Hotlanta Master,
I was more MD oriented and I absolutely hated VO2 workouts, but I knew I needed these the most since this was where I was lacking. I could've run Rep workouts all day, but i don't think I ever looked forward to a VO2 workout- mainly because of the mental aspect of it-volume.
Working on weaknesses at the beginning of the season and strengths at the end of the season may be another reason why Daniels uses Reps towards the beginning of a macrocycle. Rep work is always a weakness at the beginning of the season. I think gaining efficiency from reps early will maximize your VO2 sessions.
I think more importantly though, you need to tailor workouts to the type of athletes you are coaching. Creativity can go a long ways with high school runners- they need to have fun. You are coaching people, and as we all know there are a million differences in each human being. You can know daniels and lydiard like the back of your hand but if you can't relate to your runners you might as well just have them run 10x400's everyday. I think the best coaches are the ones who can adopt and adapt training to fit the athletes they have in a given season.