Once he was fired by the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023, rumors spread almost immediately about Josh McDaniels' potential return to the Patriots. The chatter was furthered when he was seen at Gillette Stadium at the end of the 2023 season, sitting in a suite with Robert Kraft after not being seen publicly since he was dismissed from his second stint as a head coach.
That inevitably did not happen, as Bill Belichick was then on the outs with the Patriots, and Jerod Mayo overtook the team, bringing In offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt instead. But now that Mike Vrabel is the new head coach, the McDaniels rumors have heated up once again.
He has been the favorite to land the job over the past two weeks, with Vrabel keeping the hope alive by not shutting down the idea of bringing back the esteemed play-caller when asked about the possibility.
However, there is a chance that it might not be a match made in heaven like some believe, which is not something some Patriots fans will want to hear, as many have already likened to the idea of pairing McDaniels with quarterback Drake Maye.
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Josh McDaniels might not be the frontrunner for the Patriots offensive coordinator job like previous reports suggested
While discussing the latest updates regarding Vrabel's staff search, ESPN's Patriots insider Mike Reiss talked to 98.5 The Sports Hub about the McDaniels return and shared his belief that it might not line up in the way that most might hope, mainly due to the duo never coaching together.
That could throw a wrench into the mix, given the people Vrabel has been mostly connected with thus far are from his days in Tennessee. McDaniels is not one of those guys.
“He’s never coached with Mike Vrabel. I think that’s significant. The relationship between a coach and a player is different than a coach and a coach. I think Josh is going to be part of the mix. I think Mike said that publicly. But I haven’t sensed that he would be, like, Mike’s top choice right now. That might change as the process takes shape.”
It makes a lot of sense that McDaniels might not be the frontrunner, and Vrabel might feel more comfortable bringing in coaches he is more comfortable with, given their history of working together, even in different roles. However, the Patriots head coach also made it clear that he wants to bring in the best people for the job, no matter who that is, and McDaniels could be the perfect one for the job.
Ensuring that Maye has the best coordinator to work with to propel his career forward will be treated with perhaps more importance than anything else, opening the door for McDaniels to be hired. He might not have previous experience working with Vrabel, but he's a well-accomplished and proven offensive guru, so he likely won't and shouldn't be ruled out because he hasn't worked with Vrabel before.