SANTA CLARA, Calif. – You’re never too good or too old to learn.
Case in point, soon to be 50-year-old New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
His resume has two diametrically opposed football experiences:
Architect of the Patriots offense for key parts of the last 20 years, including the second dynasty (2014, 2016 and 2018).
And two colossal flops as head coach, being fired in the middle of the season in both.
But here he is, back on the big stage, back doing what he does best, according to those that know him best, including Boston College coach Bill O’Brien, a former mentee of McDaniels – teaching.
For the first time this century, McDaniels — who on Thursday was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year — spent a full calendar year out of the sport.
But he returned to the team in which he was part of six Super Bowl championships just nine days after new head coach Mike Vrabel was hired.
“I think the first meeting we had he said, ‘We’re going to treat you how you treat the team.’ You don’t need to say much more than that,” said McDaniels. “He made it very clear that ‘the team’ is also the ladies that work in the cafeteria, the janitors that clean up our locker room after we’re done, those people are part of the team, too. They get a hat and a T-shirt (for winning) also. He stressed that from the beginning; we treat you how you treat the team.”
To say McDaniels was impressed with Vrabel’s early statement would be an understatement.
“He basically said, ‘We trust you to make great decisions on and off the football field, because you’re a reflection of all of us. When you leave the building, it’s not just you, but whatever you do reflects on me, too,’” said McDaniels. “The guys he’s treated like adults have responded by doing the right things; maybe not every single minute of every single day, because none of us are perfect, but I think the players have really respected how he’s treated them.”
McDaniels spent big parts of the two decade run with Bill Belichick with a different approach, more militaristic.
The results, though, appear to be very similar. But McDaniels seems to be liking Vrabel’s approach, a lot, particularly seeing how Patriots players have responded.
“Vrabe’s style and the way he’s gone about creating this culture and vision that he has is a very, very unique blend of the ability to hold everybody accountable to a high standard,” said McDaniels. “And you know, he cares about you as a human being every minute of every day. That’s a rare trait. And he can do both at the same time, all the time, and it’s why he’s who he is. It’s why we’re where we’re at.”
What has struck McDaniels is how Vrabel’s influence on the younger players on the roster.
“You can start with the quarterback, but it’s really across the board,” said McDaniels. “We have young players at all positions, and just seeing those guys grow, but also understanding the amount of patience that’s required for us. I’ve said this a couple of times the last few days. I’m glad I have kids from the ages of 13 to 21 right now, because honestly, that’s how I feel like when I’m at work.”
Making demands – i.e. the old Patriot Way – doesn’t necessarily work with the new kids in pro sports today.
“The patience that I have to demonstrate, as a dad, carries over and has helped me at work more this year than any other year of my life, I swear,” said McDaniels. “And then there’s the joy of that too. And when they finally get it, and then they do it, and then they have success, you’re so happy for them, because that’s why we coach. We coach to see them succeed.”
The younger generation of players they have, noted McDaniels, so many outside influences pulling their attention.
“That’s the world we live in now. The patience part of it, the phones … you got to give a little and then you ask for some more, and then you got to be patient with the response; and then you got to get a little bit more. That’s kind of how it’s been, and I think that’s how it’s going to be going forward in coaching.”
While McDaniels is often noted for his relationship and working relationship with Tom Brady, they really teamed up as a “duo” when his quarterback was true MVP quarterback.
McDaniels working relationship with then-rookie Mac Jones seems to be more apropos in terms of his experience than it was with Brady.
Case in point late in the fourth quarter in the AFC title game in Denver, when Maye all but admitted, via NFL Films, “Good God, this is hard.”
“They’re two completely different buckets [Brady and Maye]. One is growing up right in front of your eyes, and you’re seeing it daily. There’s a youthful exuberance to him and an excitement,” said McDaniels. “There’s also a human element of being a young player, that you just have to recalibrate your expectations on a day to day basis. Sometimes there’s going to be a mistake. And I think the best thing we did at the beginning of the year was we said, ‘Listen Drake, we’re either going to do it right or we’re going to learn if we if we make a mistake. We don’t call it, oh, we failed. No, we learn. We either win or we learn. We win or we learn.’”
Remarkably, McDaniels didn’t take a breath talking about that epic teaching moment that everyone saw in real time.
“Each step of the way, I think we’ve tried to reiterate that to ourselves and to him. You just have to understand that there’s going to be some moments like that, the one on the sideline of Denver, and again, he was right,” recalled McDaniels.
“The snow is going so hard you can hardly see. When you looked into it, the wind was blowing sideways. I literally had icicles in my hair, and I don’t have much hair. When he was saying, ‘Gosh dang, this is this hard,’ he was being honest. In that situation, it’s not a perfect answer, but I think I just wanted him to know, ‘You’re right, it is. And we might not have many plays left to make; maybe it’s one, maybe it’s two, and if we do, there’s going to be this incredible feeling at the end of the game that we’re going to experience together.”
Presto. The final football game of the NFL season is upon us and McDaniels is still coaching.
Interesting. Is this new experience under Vrabel going to change the narrative that McDaniels doesn’t deserve a third shot at being a head coach some day soon?
My opinion: It should.
For now, it’s the matter at hand. Beating the Seahawks in the final game of the year. Again.
“This has been a great experience for all of us,” said McDaniels. “We have a really tough job ahead of us. But it’s been a joy, the entire ride.”