Getting hired by the NFL demands elite skill. Mike McDaniel’s NFL career began when he watched the Denver Broncos at training camp and lost his Charlotte Hornets cap.
Raised by a single mother, McDaniel’s biggest dream was to make it to the NFL. As a kid growing up in Colorado, he often watched the Broncos during training camp. One day, he had a goal to get as much of his memorabilia signed by different players. To look a bit inconspicuous, he planned to wear a Hornets hat so that he could ask for multiple autographs. One second he’d be wearing the hat, and the next he would take it off in hopes of not being recognized.
After successfully getting his memorabilia signed by Broncos’ running back Robert Delpino earlier in the day, McDaniel saw him sign autographs after practice and placed his hat on a nearby bench to try and get another item signed. However, upon his return, he discovered that his hat was missing. In his quest to find his hat, the first person he found to ask for help was Gary McCune, the Broncos’ video operations assistant.
The next several minutes were spent searching for the hat, but it was never located. McCune could see it in McDaniel’s face that he was distraught. McCune went to the Greeley Mall later that day to purchase him a new hat. When McCune saw McDaniel the next day, he asked him and his family to have a behind-the-scenes tour of the Broncos facilities in addition to giving him a new hat.
During the tour, McDaniel brought his mother, who eventually fell in love with McCune and got married to him. When McCune was busy watching and reviewing game films late at night, McDaniel often joined him. He’d get his first shot at the NFL working as a ball boy for the Broncos. His enthusiasm and work ethic did not go unnoticed, and once he graduated from Yale, he was hired as a coaching intern for the Broncos.
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