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Patriots hire Josh McDaniels as Mike Vrabel's new offensive coordinator

What is Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel looking for in his offensive coordinator?
What is Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel looking for in his offensive coordinator? 07:03

FOXBORO -- Josh McDaniels is the offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots once again. McDaniels has been hired by New England after interviewing with new head coach Mike Vrabel for the role on Tuesday.

The team officially announced the hiring of McDaniels on Wednesday

This will be McDaniels' third stint as a coach in New England, having already been the team's offensive coordinator for 14 seasons. McDaniels was on Bill Belichick's staff for all six of New England's Super Bowl titles. 

Now he's back again to lead the Patriots offense under Vrabel, who was a player for New England during McDaniels' first run with the team. McDaniels will now have a big hand in the development of Drake Maye going forward, and owns a solid history with quarterbacks in New England. 

Josh McDaniels' coaching career

McDaniels spent 18 years with the New England Patriots over his first two stints with the franchise, starting as a personnel assistant in 2001. He served as a defensive assistant in 2002 and 2003 before making his way to the offensive side of the ball as the team's quarterbacks coach in 2004, a role he held until 2008. 

In 2006, McDaniels added offensive coordinator to his job title for the first time.

While having Tom Brady as his quarterback certainly played a large role in McDaniels' success as New England's offensive coordinator, he also won games with Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett, and Cam Newton at quarterback for the Patriots. He also helped Mac Jones have a solid rookie season, and the Patriots' offense really fell apart after McDaniels left again after the 2021 season.

McDaniels was OC for New England's historic season in 2007, when the Patriots set an NFL record by scoring 589 points and 75 touchdowns. It got him some attention as a potential head-coaching candidate, but McDaniels didn't pursue any opportunities.

In 2008, McDaniels helped the Patriots get the most out of backup quarterback Matt Cassel after Brady suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. The Patriots offense still finished in the Top 10 in scoring, with their 410 points ranking eighth in the NFL. New England ranked fifth in the league with 5,847 yards of offense. The Patriots managed to go 11-5 that season and just missed the playoffs, but that opened a new door for McDaniels.

After the 2008 season, McDaniels was hired as the new head coach of the Denver Broncos. He started his head-coaching career with an 6-0 record, which included a win over the Patriots in Denver, but the Broncos then lost four straight. The team finished the year 8-8 and missed out on the playoffs, and McDaniels was fired after a 3-9 start to his second season.

McDaniels spent the 2011 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the St. Louis Rams, but was back in New England in 2012 to take over for Bill O'Brien, who left his OC role to become head coach at Penn State. McDaniels was New England's offensive coordinator from 2012-2021 and won three more Super Bowl rings with the team. 

McDaniels was announced as the new head coach of the Colts in 2018, but withdrew from the job on the day he was supposed to be introduced by the team in Indianapolis. Robert Kraft convinced him to remain with the Patriots, and he was in New England for four more seasons before he became the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022. 

McDaniels oversaw the New England offense in the wake of Brady's departure after the 2019 season, and got the most out of rookie quarterback Mac Jones in 2021, who threw for 3,800 yards and 22 touchdowns. It was after that season that McDaniels left for Las Vegas, but he only lasted 25 games with the Raiders and was fired after a 3-5 start to the 2023 season. 

Now he's back in New England for a third time, and McDaniels should be around for a while if everything works out. Unlike other candidates, McDaniels isn't going to be a flight risk to take a head-coaching job, so Maye should be able to enjoy some stability at offensive coordinator for the foreseeable future. 

McDaniels will replace Alex Van Pelt, who was New England's OC for one season under Jerod Mayo. Outside of Maye, the Patriots lacked talent on offense and struggled throughout the 2024 season, averaging just 17.0 points per game (30th in the NFL) and 291.9 yards per game (31st). 

The Patriots also interviewed Vikings assistant offensive coordinator/assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski, Bears offensive coordinator/interim head coach Thomas Brown, and Chargers passing game coordinator Marcus Brady for their OC position before landing on McDaniels.

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