Meet The New Boss

I fell back into one of my old habits this morning. No, I didn't trade a handjob for crack or bet the mortgage on a bum fight. I went down to the newstand and purchased a dead-tree version of the Denver Post. I had two pressing needs at the time--I had to take a crap and I had to absorb the conventional wisdom on Coach Doogie. Instead of lugging the laptop to the john, I dropped four bits on the Post and then dropped the deuce.

While I "log on," as the kids say, to both Denver dailies' websites quite often for the news about my home state and my football team, it's actually rare that I buy them in print anymore. In the week or so since I'd picked up a Post, it has undergone a pretty radical transformation. The paper is tiny, made up of only three sections. The former A and B news sections are consolidated along with the Business slice. Sports is still pretty beefy and a standalone section, while all of the various features make up the third insert of the newspaper.

Why does this matter on the day we all await an official announcement of the Broncos' next head coach? Because the way we follow our teams is changing, people. You know this already, of course. It's a scientific fact that reading the House of Georges is the most cutting-edge form of media consumption available to human life, and it will even get you laid. Well, that and veterinary sedatives.

Those who gripe about Coach Doogie's age and relative inexperience are missing one important fact. We sports fans will view McDaniels through a much different prism than we did Shanny, simply because of the times. When Shanahan was hired, we read about it in the paper and watched it on the evening news. We didn't rush to our blogs and crank out posts. Even if he's inept at every facet of NFL coaching, Josh McDaniels is aware of modern communication. Hopefully he'll handle the pressure put on him by it (and, oh by the way, not be inept).

At the very least, the new boss should pass over one of Shanahan's most annoying quirks--his utter disdain for fantasy football. I know it doesn't matter to you, Coach, and I'm even on board with platooning RBs. But you have to acknowledge that approximately 106 per cent of your fan base plays fantasy, at least act like you care.

And hey, sports fans, if you want even more insight on the pitched battle between new media and old, check this out. Sure, it's crafted by the Libertarians, a selfish and pasty race. But it manages to both bag on Jason Whitlock and exalt Nate Silver, so there's that.