A six-time Super Bowl champion, McDaniels’ résumé as an OC speaks for itself. His time as an NFL head coach, though, looks a bit different. In 53 games, McDaniels is 20-33 between the Denver Broncos and the Las Vegas Raiders.
But ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said during his appearance on WEEI on Wednesday that just because McDaniels had failures as a coach doesn’t mean that they will carry over in his return to the Patriots.
It’s two different jobs. There have been a lot of coordinators that didn’t succeed as a head coach that are great coordinators,” Schefter said. “Josh McDaniels is a great coordinator. He’s one of the best play-callers in the league, period, no matter how much he struggled as a head coach. A head coach is a different animal, and that didn’t work out for him in Denver or Vegas. That’s obvious. As an offensive coordinator, I know Tom (Brady) was his quarterback, but his results are second to none.
So, he spent the last year, he’s gone around to various places, he studied a lot of tape, he’s been in the Foxboro area the entire time, his family’s there,” he continued. “So, to me, it’s just a natural match. And the great part about it is, if you’re Mike Vrabel, you’re the Patriots, you’re not worried about somebody hiring Josh McDaniels as your head coach. To me, it’s the best of all worlds for everybody.”
McDaniels will now take over an offense that struggled mightily in 2024 under Alex Van Pelt. Drake Maye was a bright spot after he took over the starting quarterback and he looks to make a leap in Year 2. McDaniels had success with Mac Jones, too, who made the Pro Bowl in his rookie year under McDaniels.
The Patriots enter a new era in 2025 with Mike Vrabel as coach, McDaniels as the offensive coordinator, Terrell Williams as the defensive coordinator and Tony Dews as the running backs coach.
More changes could be coming to the staff, but there seems to be optimism from those around the NFL regarding McDaniels’ hire.
