Ex-Broncos coach Josh McDaniels mourns loss of Demaryius Thomas: ‘The best person I have ever coached’

Josh McDaniels didn’t coach Demaryius Thomas for very long during his career. He lasted just 12 more games as the Broncos’ head coach after Thomas was selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft and Thomas never played a game for the Patriots during his 2019 offseason stint with them.

Still, Thomas made a big impact on McDaniels’ life, and that has made Thomas’ death at the age of 33 all the more “devastating,” in McDaniels’ words.

“He was the best person I have ever coached,” McDaniels said of Thomas to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. “What an incredible human being. I’m so sad for his family and all who knew him. Loved DT.”

MORE: NFL world reacts to the death of Demaryius Thomas

McDaniels was part of the brain trust that selected Thomas two picks ahead of Dez Bryant, who was considered to be the No. 1 receiver in the 2010 NFL Draft. The move was scrutinized, but as Broncos reporter Mike Klis — then of the Denver Post — noted, the Broncos believed that they had found a player comparable to Brandon Marshall.

Thomas panned out in a big way. He recorded 665 catches for 9,055 yards and 60 touchdowns with the Broncos, both of which rank as the second-most in team history. He accomplished that in just nine seasons in Denver while making four Pro Bowls and helping Peyton Manning lead Denver to a Super Bowl title in 2015.

What stood out to McDaniels though wasn’t how Thomas performed. It was the type of teammate — and moreover, person — that Thomas was and how much he valued his relationship with the former Broncos coach in their little time together.

“I didn’t coach him his whole career, but he always stayed in contact. Every time we played, he’d give me that hug and thank me. I told him he had held up his end of the bargain,” McDaniels said. 

“He was uniquely gifted at cultivating relationships. Every message I read or saw [after Thomas’ death] was true. I’m devastated, like many. The Lord must have needed him.”

Thomas died at his home in Roswell, Ga. on Dec. 9, 2021. His family reports that he may have died as a result of a seizure. He had been suffering seizures for more than a year ahead of his death.