McDaniels is beginning his third stint as the team’s offensive play-caller
Once again, Josh McDaniels will fill the New England Patriots offensive coordinator position. As expected, the team is hiring McDaniels after speaking with him Tuesday, according to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The Patriots made the move official on Wednesday.
McDaniels joins a staff that is being constructed by new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who like McDaniels was part of several Super Bowl-winning teams in New England. 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 go undefeated.
Vrabel was a player back then, while McDaniels rose from a personnel assistant to the team’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. McDaniels’ success in New England during that span led to him serving as the Broncos head coach for two seasons. He then spent one season as the Rams offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach before returning to New England in 2012.
The Patriots have never won a Super Bowl without McDaniels, who left the franchise a second time after the 2021 season to become the Raiders head coach. McDaniels had been out of football since Las Vegas fired him during the 2023 season.
McDaniels will now be charged with the task of improving a Patriots offense that was 30th in the NFL in scoring last year. McDaniels does have a significant piece already in place in quarterback Drake Maye, who showed promise last year despite the offense’s overall struggles.
