The New England Patriots officially announced the hiring of Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator Wednesday afternoon. While the move has been met mostly with approval from Patriots fans, there has been some pushback from those who wonder if McDaniels was actually head coach Mike Vrabel’s first choice, or if this was more of a Robert and Jonathan Kraft hire who was foisted on Vrabel.
Andy Hart asked ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter for some clarification during Schefter’s weekly appearance on WEEI Afternoons on Wednesday, and Schefter did not hedge.
“Did Mike Vrabel hire Josh McDaniels? Or did Robert Kraft and Jonathan Kraft hire Josh McDaniels?” Hart asked.
“Mike Vrabel hired Josh McDaniels,” Schefter said bluntly.
“So, no forced marriage here? He went through the interview process and came down to the candidate he wanted?” Hart followed up.
“That’s what I believe to be the case, yes. Absolutely,” Schefter said.
So, that just about settles that. Schefter is as plugged in as anyone, and his answer here was pretty definitive. In past appearances on WEEI Afternoons, Schefter has been honest about subjects where he didn’t know something for sure, or didn’t have enough information to give a definitive answer.
Schefter also said later in the segment that he believes McDaniels is a good hire, saying that people need to separate his success as an offensive coordinator from his failures as a head coach.
“It’s two different jobs,” Schefter said. “There have been a lot of coordinators that didn't succeed as a head coach that are great coordinators. Josh McDaniels is a great coordinator. He's one of the best play-callers in the league, period, no matter how much he struggled as a head coach. A head coach is a different animal, and that didn't work out for him in Denver or Vegas. That's obvious. As an offensive coordinator, I know Tom [Brady] was his quarterback, but his results are second to none.
“So, he spent the last year, he's gone around to various places, he studied a lot of tape, he's been in the Foxboro area the entire time, his family's there. So, to me, it's just a natural match. And the great part about it is, if you're Mike Vrabel, you're the Patriots, you're not worried about somebody hiring Josh McDaniels as your head coach. To me, it's the best of all worlds for everybody.”