...I want 'Chucky' for Christmas!

The Denver Broncos wanted Josh McDaniels to bring the New England Patriots' winning ways with him to the Rocky Mountains when they hired Bill Belichick's brash, young disciple 22 months ago.

What they got instead was the ash-gray hoodie and their very own videotaping scandal to go with a pile of losses and personnel blunders that cost him his job not even halfway through his four-year contract.

McDaniels, the successor to Mike Shanahan in Denver, began his Broncos coaching career with a bang, going 6-0. But since then, the team has gone just 5-17. The loss to the Chiefs on Sunday was their seventh defeat in eight games, dropping the Broncos' 2010 record to 3-9.

He was fired Monday in the midst of the franchise's worst skid in four decades. Spread the word on facebook, twitter and to all your friends. Woo Hoo!

'Baby Josh' might be best known for his decisions to trade quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Brandon Marshall over the past year as well as his surprising decision to select Tim Tebow in the first round of the 2010 draft.

The Broncos traded Cutler and a fifth-round draft pick to Chicago in April of 2009, in exchange for Kyle Orton, first- and third-round picks in 2009 and a 2010 first-rounder. Denver then shipped Marshall to Miami after the 2009 season, following McDaniels' late-season benching of Marshall for disciplinary reasons. And to top it off.... the Broncos unloaded Peyton Hillis just prior to the 2010 draft, sending him and a pair of draft picks to Cleveland for Brady Quinn. What? My Fantasy Team trades better than that!

And...the organization was embarrassed by McDaniels' role in a videotaping scandal that resulted in the firing of a Broncos cameraman and league-imposed fines of $50,000 for both McDaniels and the team. A former team employee was found to have improperly taped a 49ers practice the day before the 49ers beat the Broncos in a game played at London's Wembley Stadium on Oct. 31.

The ex-employee, NFL investigators found, offered to show the tape to McDaniels, who refused to look at it and ordered it destroyed. But McDaniels failed to inform team brass or the league about the matter as required by league rules relating to the integrity of the game, leading to the fines.

Hey! Could there be a second John Elway Era in Denver?

Today, Broncos Chief Operating Officer Joe Ellis publicly stated what has been known for some time — that the franchise’s all-time greatest player has been serving as a consultant for the Broncos. John Elway’s involvement has been predominantly on the business side, but recent developments suggest his role could quickly be expanding within the Broncos organization.

Ellis seems to recognize (and indicates that Bowlen recognizes) that they need to change the model. Ellis graciously admitted that the Broncos may have ensured McDaniels' failure by giving him way too much responsibility. It sounds like they will be changing the model going forward.

First, there was Elway’s address of the players during practice a few weeks ago, a move clearly outside his capacity as “business consultant.” Then, there was a groundswell of media support for Elway’s increased involvement within the franchise, potentially in a pro personnel/front office role.

Denver news reported that Pat Bowlen had dinner with John Elway at the Cherry Creek Elway's restaurant. It seems more and more likely that John Elway will be brought back into the fold.

“One of the things that (Broncos Owner) Pat (Bowlen) asked him to do was come back in the building and get involved with the team,” Ellis said during the team’s press conference Tuesday. “He’s been at practices and in the course of meetings we have on the business side, he’s shared thoughts about the team (and) he’s expressed an interest to some of you in the room.

“I don’t take that lightly and Pat doesn’t take that lightly, that’s for sure,” Ellis continued. “The conversations we’ve had with John clearly indicate one thing. He loves the Broncos, and loves Denver.”

Those conversations, however, are very preliminary. “I don’t know where that’s going to go, if anywhere, I really don’t,” Ellis said. “But, I respect the fact that he’s interested in helping the Broncos. He has a lot of qualities that perhaps could lend themselves to helping the Broncos. But, I don’t know if that’s going to advance at this point or not.”

Will The Duke’s comeback be in a full-time front office role? Is Elway aptly armed for such service? (Yes, I just questioned Elway’s arm). I’m honestly on the fence on this one folks. On-field prowess does not necessarily translate into off-field football acumen, and Elway has no scouting experience. I sense Pat Bowlen is on the fence on this one, too, or Elway would already be signed, sealed and delivered.

We have some time, Mr. Bowlen. Let’s do our due diligence here. Talk to John, and see what he can bring to the table. He’ll bring ticket sales and fan excitement and unquestioned support, for sure — but will he make the Broncos better? And if, Mr. Bowlen, you ultimately decide to bring him in, bring in some checks and balances as well — something I’m sure you wish you had done two years ago with Josh McDaniels.

Then go and get Jon Gruden at any cost! Chucky! John and Jon!