Another former member of the New England Patriots coaching staff who couldn’t succeed when out on his own may return if the team elects to keep Bill Belichick on as head coach.
The Pats may rehire Josh McDaniels, who was fired by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season, as part of a plan to dramatically improve the team’s on-field product, according to a report from The Athletic.
Belichick has already held one meeting with team owner Robert Kraft regarding the franchise’s direction on Monday; he is expected to hold one more meeting later this week. According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, Belichick has been conducting business as usual “without displaying any signs he might be done.” However, in his Monday end-of-season press conference, Belichick hinted that he may be willing to make some concessions, including relinquishing some personnel control.
Kraft reportedly leaned toward parting ways with Belichick as recently as December, according to The Athletic. A well-thought-out plan by Belichick may save his job. Belichick and Kraft both want The Hoodie to break Don Shula’s all-time coaching wins record with New England before eventually retiring (he’s currently 15 dubs shy). McDaniels is a longtime friend of Belichick and remains one of Kraft’s favorite members of the organization, per The Athletic.
Bringing back McDaniels, though, would be more of the same. The post-Brady era in New England has resulted in a 29-38 record, zero playoff wins, and a whole bunch of Belichick-disciple retreads. New England has brought back former New York Giants coach Joe Judge, former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia, and former Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien over the last three years to coach the offense in some form or fashion.
McDaniels left New England for head coaching vacancies twice, posting a combined 20-33 record over four seasons. He returned to New England after his two-year run in Denver and may do the same after his Vegas debacle.
Working with Belichick and the Patriots over two stints spanning 19 seasons, McDaniels is inarguably the most decorated member of Belichick’s coaching tree. In 12 non-consecutive years as the team’s offensive coordinator, the Patriots won three Super Bowls and finished top-five in offensive DVOA in seven different seasons.
The recycling of Belichick disciples just hasn’t worked, though. McDaniels helped Mac Jones to an above-average rookie season in 2021. When he left, the combined efforts of a former special teams coordinator (Judge) and former defensive coordinator (Patricia) completely undid all the good instilled by McDaniels. O’Brien’s experience at Alabama was supposed to speak to Jones and salvage his Patriots career. Instead, Jones looked broken beyond repair and got benched for Bailey Zappe.
It’s not like McDaniels led a good offense in Las Vegas, either. New England’s biggest problem of the post-Brady era has been a lack of skill position talent. Equipped with a top-five receiver in Davante Adams and the 2022 rushing leader Josh Jacobs, McDaniels’ Raiders finished 15th in offensive DVOA in 2022 and 27th in offensive DVOA in 2023. The decision to reunite McDaniels with former Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo completely blew up, with Jimmy G getting benched for fourth-round rookie Aidan O’Connell midway through the season.
This staff, collectively, should not be trusted to develop another New England quarterback. The franchise cannot grow without letting go, especially when the familiar faces of the last two years have resulted in two bottom-10 offenses with a combined 12-22 record. An opportunity for a top-three draft pick doesn’t come around often, especially in New England. Use it as a chance to wipe the slate clean instead of going back to old habits.
