During his weekly visit with the WEEI Afternoon Show, ESPN’s Adam Schefter was asked Wednesday about the Patriots search for their next offensive coordinator.
“You have some names you could throw at us?” WEEI’s Andy Hart asked Schefter. “Could you handicap that job, which seems to be the next-most important job in terms of working with Drake Maye?”
After a preamble from Schefter saying newly hired Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel will go through a long process with a lot of candidates while looking for New England’s next OC, he made sure to mention a name we’re all familiar with in these parts.
“I’ll just say - like, the name had been floated out there - I think it’s completely logical, Josh McDaniels is in Foxborough,” said Schefter. “He’s under contract with the Raiders, so the cost is friendly. I think there’s some sort of relationship between him and Mike Vrabel - they’re familiar with each other’s work.
“That’s one that would make sense. Ultimately, I don’t know if it will get done in the end. He’s gonna have to go through his list of candidates. We’ll see what happens. But that, to me, would be a logical one that would, I think, help the development of Drake Maye.”
Schefter, who is well-known for being well-sourced when it comes to all things Patriots, brought up McDaniels’ name unprompted on Wednesday.
That’s not nothing.
When Vrabel was prompted by McDaniels’ name during his interview on Tuesday with The Greg Hill Show, he confirmed that the two-time Patriots offensive coordinator would be someone he speaks to about his vacancy at the top of his offensive staff.
“Rob Gronkowski said your first call should be to Josh McDaniels,” WEEI’s Greg Hill said to Vrabel, referencing comments the former Patriots tight end made over the weekend on FOX.
“Um, yeah - I’m gonna look at every possible candidate that I feel like can help us,” said Vrabel. “We’re going to start that process today, this afternoon, and visit with some great coaches and then we’ll see where things go.”
“Is he on the list?” Hill followed up.
“Yeah,” Vrabel confirmed. “It’s a long list. There’s a long list, and, you know - 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 and wanna bring in here.”
McDaniels has a long, successful history with New England, having previously served as former head coach Bill Belichick’s offensive coordinator in two different stints with the franchise.
During stint No. 1 (2006-2008), McDaniels was credited as the architect of the greatest offense in NFL history, as the 2007 Patriots broke every scoring record imaginable on their way to the only 16-0 regular season in league history. That team, of course, didn’t finish the job in Super Bowl XLII, but that didn’t matter for McDaniels’ profile moving forward. The young assistant was now the hottest name for any and all coaching rumors moving forward.
His success with Tom Brady and Randy Moss inevitably landed him the head coaching job in Denver ahead of the 2009 season, making him the youngest head coach in league history at age 32.
Despite starting his first season 6-0, including a Week 5 upset win over his former team, the Broncos ended up losing eight of their next 10 games to close out the season. And after his team started 3-9 in his second season, McDaniels was fired with a month left in the 2010 season.
After a one-year pit stop in St. Louis in 2011 as their offensive coordinator, McDaniels returned to New England for his second stint as OC, this time staying in Foxborough for 10 seasons (2012-21). The Patriots offense returned to form, winning eight straight AFC East titles on their way to three Super Bowl victories.
This led to McDaniels getting another crack at head coach, this time with Las Vegas. But after going 6-11 in his first season with the Raiders in 2022, the questions of McDaniels’ ability to lead an entire operation reemerged.
With his team starting the 2023 season 3-5, the seat got too hot, and McDaniels was canned midseason from a head coaching gig yet again.
McDaniels, now 48, did not work in the league in 2024. With him and Vrabel crossing paths in New England during the first run of the Patriots dynasty (McDaniels was a young assistant starting in 2001 before later becoming OC), it makes sense that the new head coach would at least kick the tires on his old friend.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on Vrabel’s coaching staff.