Josh McDaniels and Tim Tebow were together in Denver. On Saturday, they'll be on opposite sides of the field. (AP)

Among the Broncos on Monday, the news that former head coach Josh McDaniels joined the Patriots coaching staff in advance of their Saturday playoff game against New England was met with a collective shrug.

McDaniels, who served as the head coach in Denver for almost two seasons, was fired late in the 2010 season with a 3-9 record in 2010 after losing 17 of his last 22 games. On Saturday, McDaniels, who was offensive coordinator with the Patriots from 2006 through 2008, will be working for his old team (after being let out his contract with St. Louis) against the team he used to coach.

Under his watch in Denver, he drafted many of the members of the current roster, including linebacker Robert Ayers, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and quarterback Tim Tebow.

“I thank God for that,” Ayers said when he was asked about McDaniels taking him in he first round of the 2009 draft. “God put me in a situation to get drafted where I did and blessed me with the ability. Josh McDaniels pulled the trigger on me with the 18th pick. I thank God, and I also give him a little credit for that too.”

“I guess it’s another coach,” said Thomas. “He drafted me and Tim. It’ll be good to see him, but it’s another game.”

“I don’t really pay too much attention to that. We can’t let stuff not on our side distract us. We have a tough team to play. The only thing we can be focused on is football right now,” said wide receiver Eddie Royal. “I don’t think too many guys are going to be thinking about that. We have to worry about stopping Tom Brady and scoring points on this defense. I don’t think you can worry about who’s coaching them.”

Regardless of whether or not McDaniels gives the Patriots an edge – its extraordinary to see a team get the opportunity to hire the former head coach of a team in the week before a playoff game against that team – Denver coach John Fox doesn’t believe there will be much of an advantage gained by New England having McDaniels on the other sideline.

“When you do this for a living you have a pretty good idea of most of the players. You [studied] them in college or coached them before and guys just move cities, that’s kind of what this league is,” said Fox, who was the head coach in Carolina from 2002 through 2010 before joining Denver.

“I mean, we’re going to go play Carolina next year. I don’t think that’s going to be a huge advantage for me. Plus, their team has changed and so has ours. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”