FOXBOROUGH – Josh McDaniels used two words often to encapsulate the first two decades of the New England Patriots dynasty.
“It’s fun.”
Winning division titles was fun. Winning conference titles was fun. Winning Super Bowls was fun.
That being said, there were not a lot of happy-go-lucky smiles around Gillette Stadium those two decades, but in the end the “W’s” made it fun.
There is a difference, though, now in his third tenure as head of the Patriots’ offense.
The Patriots have won nothing. Not a game. Yet.
“It’s fun,” said McDaniels after being asked about his seven months under head coach Mike Vrabel.
Fun?
Yes, at this stage of his career, spanning two decades in the sport, McDaniels can admit he is having fun working as an underling, this time to Vrabel.
And mind you, this is not an easy week, Las Vegas Raiders week. It is another reminder of McDaniels’ two failed attempts as a head coach, first with the Denver Broncos and lastly, the Raiders.
Both ended abruptly and the criticism of his work was, well, biting, as he went out the door in both places.
He was out of football last year, moving back to the Foxborough area with his family, licking his wounds, but not dwelling on them, apparently.
“I don’t harbor any ill will towards any of the things that haven’t worked out in my career, and there’s been many of them,” said McDaniels. “And you know, you do the best you can with what you have. You give everything you have to the job that you’re in.”
Which brings us back to his gig with the 2025 Patriots and working for Vrabel.
Talk about a perfect storm.
McDaniels has been working with quarterbacks since 2004, when he was Tom Brady’s quarterback coach under then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis.
And while his work and relationship with Brady bordered on epic, McDaniels’ greatest performance in that task was in his second go-round at Patriots OC in 2021, Mac Jones rookie year.
The Patriots won 10 games that season, more than twice the last two seasons, and Jones completed 67.8 percent of his passes and threw 22 touchdowns versus 14 interceptions.
Jones was the NFL’s All-Rookie quarterback, despite being the fourth one drafted in 2021, and also made the Pro Bowl, where he was edged out for MVP by Justin Herbert.
McDaniels left for the Raiders head coaching position and Jones’ career went south, as in deep south. One possible reason for his decline may have been McDaniels’ replacement was Matt Patricia, who had never coached offense … in his life.
It could be argued that McDaniels has the most important job in the organization coaching Maye, one-on-one, and hopefully turning him into a “franchise quarterback.”
Their relationship got off to a great start, even before they talked X’s and O’s.
“I’m smitten by the young man in terms of just his personality,” said McDaniels at an April presser. “We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time that had nothing to do with football, with one another, which was great.”
It’s too early to assess their football relationship, but McDaniels has already pulled out some old video a former Patriots “franchise quarterback” as well as big games against coaches and defenses he will face.
“(It’s been cool) going back to watch the Super Bowl (against Seattle), going back and watching the COVID game with Cam [Newton] when nobody’s in the stands,” said Maye on Wednesday, referring to some battles against Pete Carroll, the new head coach of the Raiders.
“It’s great having coach McDaniels, who’s played against this (Raiders) defense and knows some extra little tidbits for me to know, whether it’s in the huddle or before a play,” said Maye. “ It’s great to have a play-caller in my corner who’s played against this scheme in a Super Bowl.”
Boston College head coach Bill O’Brien spent two years reporting to McDaniels before ascending to the OC role in 2009 with the Patriots. He is all-in on this duo “figuring it out.”
“I think it’s going to be a great marriage,” said O’Brien on the “Foxboro Rush” show. “If you look at Josh’s career, obviously you know his with Tom Brady. But he also coached Jimmy G. He coached Jacoby Brissett. He had Matt Cassel when he was playing. He was able to deal with all kinds of different quarterbacks and understand how to fit the system around what they could do best. And I think that’s what you’ll see with Drake.”
One player who was here for McDaniels’ second go-round at OC in 2021, tight end Hunter Henry, sees a re-energized play-caller.
“There’s definitely an excitement to him right now,” said Henry, who caught a career-high nine TDs under McDaniels four seasons ago.
“When you’re out for a year, you can tell he is excited to be back in football and coaching,” noted Henry. “He’s just a tremendous coach, man. He’s a tremendous teacher of just the scheme, a tremendous teacher of football. He’s been around for so long and coached a lot of high level players.”
The rubber begins meeting road on Sunday. Those questions will be answered.
Thus far, though, McDaniels seems to be in a very good place and likes what he sees and hears from the new Patriots head coach.
“I know he does a really good job of balancing the grind of football with the human element of how difficult his job can be both from a player’s perspective and a coaching perspective,” said McDaniels.
“I’m really enjoying his perspective on that and how he keeps it fresh. He chases us out of here when it’s time to get out of here, which I appreciate. He knows how long the season can be, you know rest, and trying to keep yourself in a healthy place is an important part of it, too … I’ve learned a lot.”