For Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, coming back to the Patriots–yet again, for his third stint–life has been pretty good in his old digs. The Patriots are 8-2 and with second-year quarterback Drake Maye at the helm, appear to be well-positioned for consistent, sustained success.
One of the questions that McDaniels gets quite frequently, though, is whether he is in New England to stay, whether his newly forged working relationship with Mike Vrabel–McDaniels’ previous 13 years with the Patriots had been under Bill Belichick–and Maye will last the way it did with his previous boss and Tom Brady.
McDaniels has indicated that he does, indeed, want to stick around. But as a football lifer whose only two stints as a head coach, in Denver in 2009-10 and in Las Vegas in 2022-23, were utter disasters, there is also the distinct possibility that McDaniels wants to prove for once and for all that he can handle and succeed in a top job.
And with a coaching vacancy opening up that might well suit McDaniels’ skill set, the possibility of losing the team’s play-caller after just one year is now lingering.
Josh McDaniels Could Draw Interest From the Giants
That vacancy, of course, is the Giants, who fired coach Brian Daboll this week after a 2-8 start obscured the promise provided by rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
But with a 20-33 record as a head coach and with the Giants having been an unstable operation since Eli Manning left town, McDaniels might be best off resisting the temptation to head to the Big Apple. Besides, the opportunity to keep moving forward with the Patriots has to be enticing.
Patriots ‘Having a Blast’
That’s the feeling from Patriots insider Tom Curran, who said this week that McDaniels’ situation with New England really can’t get much better–even if there is interest from the Giants.
“Head coach is a managerial, supervisory-level position. It’s not under the hood fixing things the way coordinator is,” Curran said. “All those responsibilities that those coordinators are so good at are now diffused. So, to me, you look at it and you say Josh would probably be best served continuing in this role.
“If he wants to be a head coach, have at it. But there’s nothing wrong with staying and making plenty of money and having a blast in New England with a developing good player.”
Josh McDaniels ‘Really Enjoying’ Coaching for Patriots Again
McDaniels could have a good time, of course, leaving the Patriots and going to develop Jaxson Dart the way he has been developing Maye. But he has indicated he is not eager to get out of New England, and that could be a good sign for the Patriots.
“I love living in New England. That’s the short of it,” McDaniels said last month.
“I just try to focus on now. I’m really enjoying coaching for Mike (Vrabel), and the staff and the guys we have here in the organization. That would be surprising if I moved my kids out of Westwood (Massachusetts).”
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