Now that the Patriots have their head coach, Mike Vrabel, introduced and installed down in Foxborough, all eyes turn to who New England will choose to shepherd Drake Maye from his current state of young virtuoso into the realm of elite quarterbacking.
The man for that job is Josh McDaniels.
Stop that eye rolling. Now come on, that groaning is unattractive! McDaniels isn’t a millennial whiz kid like the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions found in Bobby Slowik and Ben Johnson. He didn’t sprout from the Sean McVay coaching tree or learn at the knee of Mike Shanahan. Sure, most of his resume accolades are tied to the greatest quarterback in history, and he’s crashed out as a head coach twice.
He’s still the right man for this job, and it’s the second-most important position on the 2025 coaching staff. Outside of Christian Gonzalez and a few special teamers, Drake Maye is all this team’s got. The future hinges on his ability to make the jump from keeping the Patriots in some games in 2024 to actually winning them, (no pressure, Drake). Alex Van Pelt did the most commendable job on last season’s coaching staff, bringing Maye along in everything from his footwork to his in-game decision making, but there’s still a lot more room for improvement.
Now, Van Pelt is likely out the door, and Maye will be faced with his second coordinator in two seasons. New England has to get to this pick right and prevent a revolving door of OCs from scrambling Maye’s brain by the end of his rookie contract.
“I've had a relationship with Josh, and I've had relationships with other offensive coaches and defensive coaches that we're going to interview,” Vrabel told WEEI’s Greg Hill Show earlier this week, and said he’s on a “long list” on candidates.
The strongest bit of evidence supporting McDaniels’ case might be the last quarterback drafted by New England: Mac Jones. Jones is already a cautionary tale, both in terms of drafting first-round quarterbacks and churning through – or failing to appoint – offensive coordinators. But during his 2021 rookie season, under McDaniels’ tutelage, Jones look every bit the honorary Pro Bowler he was deemed. His passing stats nearly reached 4,000 yards, he threw 22 touchdowns, and he averaged 7.3 yards per pass attempt. He looked like a better-than-average NFL starting quarterback who benefitted from New England’s big spend in free agency the previous offseason. But once McDaniels departed, Jones never reached those heights again.
Maye is already a better a quarterback than Jones was in 2021. He doesn’t have the wins, but he has stronger natural abilities, raw talent, and just as good processing power. He also appears to be a natural leader and doesn’t lack in confidence or fortitude. And – oh yeah – the Patriots have the NFL’s most money to spend against the cap this offseason.
McDaniels could have a field day working with him. The partnership would require him to once again strip down the Brady playbook and build it back up to accommodate Maye starting over from Van Pelt’s west coast scheme, but there are some pieces already on the Patriots that would lend itself to McDaniels’ love for 21 personnel and give the young quarterback security binkies while he further develops. Tight end Hunter Henry is the most dependable pass catcher on the roster, and Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson can both be utilized in that system and as pass catching backs.
Beyond the fit in scheme and personality, McDaniels shouldn’t be a flight risk at this point in his career. He’s kept a house in the local area for over a decade, has his family here, and has already spun through the head coach carousel enough times to settle in his natural place as an assistant. Maye would benefit tremendously from the continuity of the same coordinator and offense for years to come.
He also has more familiarity with Robert and Jonathan Kraft, as well as the inner workings of the Patriots, than anyone else on staff. That seems to be a selling point for ownership these days. It could work as a strength in better organizing the overall football operations, if McDaniels has loyalty and respect for Vrabel and his way of doing things.
Call it a retread if you want. I call it the obvious choice for job.