SANTA CLARA, Calif. — We’ll get to Josh McDaniels’ head-coaching record in a moment, but first, he deserves some flowers.
McDaniels is back in the Super Bowl, which is a familiar spot for him. He is one of the few New England Patriots who have been a part of all six Super Bowl championship teams for the franchise. He was an assistant for the first three title teams (personnel assistant in 2001, defensive assistant in 2003, quarterbacks coach in 2004) and an offensive coordinator for the final three.
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This one is different, and potentially historic. McDaniels is back without head coach Bill Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady. Now it’s Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye, the latter of which McDaniels helped develop into an MVP candidate in Maye’s second season.
Having a huge season without Brady and taking Maye to a star level is impressive, and so is this: If the Patriots win Super Bowl LX, it will be the fourth time McDaniels has won a Super Bowl ring as a coordinator. That would tie Steve Spagnuolo’s NFL record for Super Bowl wins as a coordinator. McDaniels doesn’t turn 50 years old until April.
“It means I’ve been around a lot of great people,” McDaniels said on Wednesday at the Patriots’ Super Bowl LX media availability. “None of us would be here if it wasn’t for a great group of people in the organization that help us do our jobs. The players deserve the most credit for all those things we’ve had in the past.
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“You try to do the best in your role to help the team win, and if you’re so fortunate and lucky to be part of this thing, you cherish it.”
There was a question if Spagnuolo deserves consideration as a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer. No coach has made the Hall of Fame based primarily on their work as a coordinator. Maybe it’s time to have that conversation about McDaniels too.
However, that’s complicated.
Josh McDaniels is chasing his seventh Super Bowl ring, and his fourth as a coordinator. (Yahoo Sports/Hassan Ahmad)
Josh McDaniels’ unusual career arc
It’s hard to reconcile these two facts: McDaniels is one of the most accomplished coordinators in NFL history. He is also will be remembered as one of the worst NFL head coaches in recent memory, if he doesn’t get another shot to lead a team.
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McDaniels got two chances to be a head coach and both ended in midseason firings amid the franchise burning to the ground. McDaniels was 11-17 as Broncos head coach, and that came after a 6-0 start. He was fired due to losses and controversy; he was fined $50,000 for the team videotaping a 49ers practice before a game in London.
McDaniels’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders wasn’t better. He went 9-16 and was fired after a team meeting in which players ripped McDaniels for his coaching style.
Those two stops don’t count the time McDaniels accepted the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job in 2018 but never got on the plane to Indianapolis, choosing to back out of the job and stay with New England as its offensive coordinator.
There have certainly been ups and downs throughout his career as a coach.
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“It’s football,” McDaniels said. “The game of football is an imperfect game. I try to learn the best I can every year, every week, to try to get better.
“The failings in your career are much like the failings in any other aspect of your life. You probably learn the most from them. I’ve had an opportunity to grow from the things I haven’t done as well and hopefully I’ve taken full advantage of those things and try to be the best version of myself going forward.”
[More on the Patriots: New England team feed]
In most other situations, a coach on the good side of 50 years old who is considered an offensive whiz and just developed a second-year quarterback into an MVP candidate on the way to the Super Bowl would be atop many teams’ list of head-coaching candidates. None of the coordinators hired this cycle have a better résumé as an assistant coach than McDaniels. But coaches with 20-33 records in their first two stops as a head coach usually don’t get a third chance, especially when there’s as much baggage as McDaniels has collected in that role.
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“Every day is one day at a time for me now,” McDaniels said about the possibility of being a head coach again. “I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m incredibly happy to be here and doing what I’m doing, I love my job. I love the role I have. I love the group I’m with. Whatever that plan is down the road, we’ll figure that out. But I couldn’t be more happy where I’m at.”
McDaniels a big part of Drake Maye’s breakout
Whatever issues have prevented McDaniels from success as a head coach, it’s impossible to deny his football acumen.
The Patriots were 4-13 last season as McDaniels took a year off following the Raiders debacle. Mike Vrabel was hired by New England, he hired McDaniels to run the offense and the Patriots went 14-3. Maye led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also throwing for 8.9 yards per attempt.
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Vrabel has received a lot of credit, and will likely win NFL Coach of the Year when it is announced on Thursday. McDaniels is a huge part of this championship season, too, of course.
“Josh is always on top of it,” Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte said. “With the game plan, he studies the other team really well. I always feel like he’s one step ahead.
“What impressed me most is I’ve never had an offensive coordinator that is really hands on and always one step ahead.”
Being as successful as McDaniels has been is also more than calling the right route concept to beat a Cover 3 defense. There was a moment during the Patriots’ AFC championship game win against the Broncos in which Maye, who will be the second-youngest quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl, seemed frustrated on the bench. It was cold, windy and the field was covered in snow.
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“It’s hard,” Maye said as he was mic’ed up. “Good god.”
McDaniels chuckled and told Maye: “Listen to me. Look at me. It’s going to be hard. But look, this will be the most rewarding six-and-a-half minutes of our lives if we can get it done.”
New England closed the win with Maye running for a first down that allowed the Patriots to run out the clock.
When McDaniels and Brady were working together, it wasn’t uncommon to see the two having heated arguments on the sideline. That was part of their relationship. The calming moment with Maye on the bench in Denver is not a side of McDaniels that is part of his reputation.
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“You try to do the right thing as a coach, no matter when it is, whether it’s Tuesday night in the office or you’re freezing cold on the bench in the fourth quarter of a playoff game,” McDaniels said when asked about that moment on the bench. “Whatever they need from you, whatever they require at the time, is what you’re really supposed to try to give them.
“I have four kids between the ages of 13 and 21, and they require guidance and as much wisdom as my wife and I can give them, as much as possible. I still think that’s part of my job as a coach.”
The job he’s done has landed him on the brink of a historic Super Bowl title. Strange as his career may be, that’s going to count for a lot in the end.
