Josh McDaniels Hired as Patriots OC on Mike Vrabel's Staff

The New England Patriots and new head coach Mike Vrabel hired Josh McDaniels for the team's vacant offensive coordinator position, the team announced on Wednesday.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network first reported the agreement on Tuesday.

McDaniels interviewed for the spot on Tuesday, per Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports, and was considered "a top target."

McDaniels is no stranger to the Patriots. The 48-year-old was a personnel assistant (2001), defensive assistant (2002-03), quarterbacks coach (2004-05) and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2006-08) in his first stint in New England before returning as the offensive coordinator between the 2012 and 2021 seasons.

During his time with the Patriots, he was a part of six Super Bowl-winning teams, pairing with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to great effect.

And per Schultz, McDaniels "has kept his home in Foxborough and continues to live there. He clearly has a high level of comfort and a proven track record of success with the Patriots under Belichick—plus a strong relationship with Vrabel."

McDaniels never had the same level of success as a head coach, going 20-33 with no playoff appearances in stops with the Broncos (2009-10) and Raiders (2022-23). While his offenses in New England ranked top 10 in yards eight times and top 10 in points 12 times, he's never had a top-10 offense in either category at any other stop.

Some of that, of course, can be attributed to the greatness of Brady. Compare that to McDaniels working with Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow in Denver; Sam Bradford, A.J. Feeley and Kellen Clemens in his one season as the offensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams in 2011; and Derek Carr, Aidan O'Connell and Jimmy Garoppolo in Las Vegas.

That's fairly bleak.

In a third stint with the Patriots, meanwhile, he has the chance to guide and shape the promising young career of Drake Maye. And with Vrabel considered more of a defensive mind, McDaniels will likely have a lot of freedom.

"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 bring in here," Vrabel told WEEI (h/t Mike Reiss of ESPN). Vrabel added he has a "long list" of potential options at offensive coordinator and is seeking an "aggressive but not reckless" scheme.

Vrabel seemingly feels McDaniels can bring that vision to fruition.