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Josh McDaniels was expected to follow Bill Belichick to new team after Raiders exit

Since leaving the Patriots in 2022 to become the next head coach of the Raiders, Josh McDaniels' name continues to be in conversations around New England. There were several rumors about his potential return after he was fired by Las Vegas, with some fans hoping he would reunite with Mac Jones to bring him back to the success he had as a rookie.

That never happened, and not much had been heard from the longtime offensive coordinator since he left the Raiders. But his appearance at the Patriots' last game of the 2023 season kicked off more rumors, which snowballed even further when Bill Belichick was let go earlier this year.

Because he was known as a Belichick guy, there was an assumption he would follow the head coach to whichever team he moved on to. There wasn't much said about it then, especially since Belichick didn't land a job for the 2024 season.

However, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently revealed that was the plan as Belichick was interviewing for another head coach position, but since it didn't happen, McDaniels remains out of an NFL job as well.

"Interestingly enough, former Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was being considered for a hybrid front office-coaching role had Belichick landed with the Atlanta Falcons, and much of Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio’s background, before he led New England’s personnel department, was in coaching. Both Belichick and McDaniels have close relationships with Stevens, so it’s fair to guess that these sorts of moves, from coaching to personnel, have been discussion points between that particular group of guys."

With Belichick presumably waiting a year to get his next gig, which looks like it might be with the Cowboys, it'll be interesting to see if he calls McDaniels to pick up where they left off.

The duo were successful during their tenures in New England and would likely be an easy sell for whatever team extends a contract. If that's not what happens, we might have seen the last of (at least) McDaniels in the NFL.

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