Josh McDaniels’ short tenure with the Denver Broncos from 2009-2010 was a disaster highlighted (lowlighted?) by many poor decisions.
Among the coach’s mistakes was cutting Brett Kern six games into the punter’s second season. After playing college football at Toledo, Kern signed with the Broncos and then-coach Mike Shanahan as a college free agent in 2008.
Kern showed promise as a rookie — his 46.7 yards per punt average ranked fifth among punters with at least 45 kicks in 2008. The following year, Kern averaged 46.1 yards per punt as the Broncos started the season 6-0.
Kern had a 46-yard punt returned for a touchdown by Darren Sproles and two punts that went for touchbacks — including a 39-yarder — in a 34-23 win over the San Diego Chargers in Week 6 of the 2009 season.
It was a bad game for the punter, but just one bad game. McDaniels made an incredibly short-sighted decision and cut Kern after that win in San Diego. (Later in his career, McDaniels apologized to Kern for that decision.)
Following Kern’s departure, the Broncos went 2-8 and finished the season with an 8-8 record after a 6-0 start. Kern was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans, who promptly won their next five games, helping Kern go 11-0 to begin the 2009 season.
Kern went on to play 12 more seasons in Tennessee, earning a first-team All-Pro nod (2019), a second-team All-Pro selection (2017) and three Pro Bowl selections (2017-19). He finished his career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 before announcing his retirement this offseason following a 15-year career.
Kern bounced back from the coach’s poor decision and went on to have an excellent career. While the Titans had a decade of consistency at punter, the Broncos have gone through six different punters after Kern was cut in 2009, marking yet another reminder of how bad a coach McDaniels was in Denver.
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