It is always good to maintain relationships with old friends.
For the third time, Josh McDaniels will fill the New England Patriots offensive coordinator position. As expected, the organization is hiring McDaniels after talking with him Tuesday, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones.
McDaniels joins a staff that is being built by new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who like McDaniels was part of a trio of Super Bowl-winning teams in New England headlined by Tom Bradey and former coach Bill Belichick. Vrabel and McDaniels were together in New England from 2001-08, when the franchise won its first three Super Bowls and in 2007 became the only team during the NFL’s 16-game regular season to have a spotless record.
Vrabel was a player back then, while McDaniels climbed the ladder from a personnel assistant to the team’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. McDaniels’ success with the Patriots during that era led to him serving as the Denver Broncos head coach for an underwhelming two seasons. He then had a cup of coffee as the Rams offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach before returning to New England in 2012.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Patriots have never won a Super Bowl without McDaniels, who left the franchise a second time after the 2021 campaign to become the Las Vegas Raiders head coach. McDaniels had been out of the league since Las Vegas dismissed him during the 2023 season.
McDaniels will now be given the task of improving a Patriots offense that was 30th out of 32 teams in the NFL in scoring last year.
McDaniels does have a significant piece already in place in quarterback Drake Maye, who was the third overall pick out of the University of North Carolina in last April’s draft, who showed promise last year despite the offense’s overall struggles.
