Brett Kern, the Broncos’ punting ups and downs and an apology (!) from Josh McDaniels

PHOENIX — Sure, love may mean never having to say you’re sorry, as a sappy half-century-old movie and book would tell us. But in the NFL, there are sorries. There are apologies. As cutthroat as the business is, there is room for contrition.

Eagles punter Brett Kern found that out.

If you recognize the name, there’s good reason. The Broncos had Kern as their punter throughout 2008 and for the first six games of 2009. He had a cannon for a leg. He appeared poised to become one of Denver’s best at the position, and to stop the Broncos’ revolving door at the position.

But with the Broncos 6-0 in 2009, then-coach Josh McDaniels made one of the worst moves of a 28-game tenure in which he carpet-bombed his own organization. He cut that young punter in favor of veteran Mitch Berger, who was at the end of his NFL rope.

Berger became one of seven Broncos punters over the 13-and-a-half seasons that followed.

Kern went to Tennessee and held the punter’s job for over a dozen years and became an All-Pro.

Whoops.

Other moves from Hurricane Josh had a greater impact. He released players for no apparent reason — players who had value, and showed it elsewhere. But cutting Kern encapsulated a lot of what went wrong.

The Broncos were 6-0 in 2009 before cutting Kern. They lost 17 of their next 22 games before firing McDaniels, who disgraced the organization with an illicit videotaping of a 49ers walk-through on his watch.

Tennessee, meanwhile, won eight of its final 10 games that season after signing Kern. And while it wasn’t all smiles and sunshine in Music City, they didn’t have to worry about punter for a generation.

Kern eventually flourished. But for a while, by his own admission, he “took it personal” after McDaniels cut him. That is a lousy place to be, and Kern lingered in that state for “probably a year or two,” he said this week.

“Just because I was playing well, and to get cut was a surprise. It kind of shook me a little bit, just because — I’m already a perfectionist as it is, and it kind of heightened it for me a little. Like, I never wanted to make a mistake.

“That’s kind of a dangerous place to live, you know? Because when you do make a mistake, you’re so hard on yourself. And, so, I had to let it go. I talked to some people about it, and it really helped me through the process.”

And believe it or not, part of that process was talking with McDaniels, who did something you might not expect — or believe.

He apologized to Kern.

“He was like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry I did that,’” Kern recalled. “And I was like, you don’t have to apologize. You let me go. I got to go to Tennessee. And obviously, that turned out pretty well.

‘I think probably felt bad for what happened. But like I said, it’s a business. It was a learning experience for him. It was a learning experience for me and it’s all worked out.’

At that moment, the past was in the past for both of them. Kern could completely let it go, not frozen by what happened.

“It was good for both of us,” Kern recalled.

And it’s not like Kern is unhappy with the path, either. He believes things happen for a reason — including that cut. He punted in Tennessee for the next 12-and-a-half seasons before they cut him last summer in favor of CSU alumnus Ryan Stonehouse. Nashville became Kern’s home. He flourished there and became one of the finest punters in the modern era of the NFL.

Which brings us to the moment. It seemed as though Kern was set to take part in the one thing that had eluded him: the Super Bowl. He signed with the Eagles late in the season as an injury fill-in for Arryn Siposs.

But in Saturday, the Eagles activated Siposs from injured reserve.

Siposs’ net average is 1.7 yards better than that of Kern, who worked the last six games, including regular season. His gross average is 3.4 yards petter than Kern’s. And it’s not likely the Eagles would move Siposs back to the 53-player roster to not give him a jersey. So, it appears Kern will watch his first Super Bowl from the sideline.

After that, Kern’s future will be uncertain. The market for punters heading into their 16th season isn rarely robust.

But no matter what, he can take heart in a lengthy career that included three Pro Bowls, a first-team All-Pro selection and an apology from a coach who seemed among the least likely to give one.

Not bad for a player who was waived halfway through his second pro season.

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