Patriots expecting to hire Josh McDaniels as new offensive coordinator

The Patriots are expecting to hire Josh McDaniels as their new offensive coordinator, sources confirmed to the Herald.

McDaniels should return for his third stint as offensive coordinator, having served in that role from 2006-08 and then 2012-21. He has been out of football since being fired as the Raiders’ head coach midway through the 2023 season, and interviewed for the job Tuesday in Foxboro, per sources. An official announcement could come as soon as this week.

Over his last season in New England, the Patriots averaged 27.4 points per game, something the franchise hasn’t done in the three years since. That year, the Pats ranked sixth in scoring and top-10 by several other key metrics. McDaniels also developed then first-round rookie quarterback Mac Jones into a Pro Bowl alternate.

The 48-year-old would now be responsible for the development of franchise quarterback Drake Maye, who heads into his second NFL season after an exciting rookie campaign.

McDaniels brings two decades of experience coaching quarterbacks, dating back to his first year on staff in 2004. He coached Tom Brady for most of Brady’s tenure in New England, along with Jones, Matt Cassel, Cam Newton and others. Over McDaniels’ two prior stints, he contributed to six Super Bowl titles and helped morph the Patriots offense several times from a spread attack into a two-tight end outfit and later a power running team.

McDaniels’ experience as a head coach, coordinator and quarterbacks coach seemed to appeal to new head coach Mike Vrabel. While the two have never worked together, McDaniels was on staff for all of Vrabel’s playing days in New England from 2001-08. They later went head-to-head as offensive and defensive assistants, then head coaches when Vrabel was in Tennessee.

Since McDaniels’ departure, the Pats have cycled through three different offensive play-callers in as many years and annually ranked among the league’s worst offensive teams. Last season, they averaged 17 points per game under new offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. It’s unclear what the future holds for Van Pelt who, along with quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney, are the only lead assistants from last year’s coaching staff whose departures have not been reported.

Among McDaniels’ chief challenges will be re-installing his system with a lackluster offensive line and receiving corps. The Patriots are expected to address both positions in free agency and the draft, after finishing the 2024 season as the NFL’s worst run-blocking team and second-worst pass protecting team by multiple metrics. Their wideouts also combined for just 10 receiving touchdowns, a total certain receivers around the NFL eclipsed by themselves.

Over the weekend, the Patriots also interviewed Vikings assistant Grant Udinski, a 28-year-old rising star in Minnesota. This season, Udinski was the Vikings’ assistant offensive coordinator and assistant quarterbacks coach. Udinski first coached quarterbacks in 2023, one year after arriving in Minnesota as an assistant to the head coach with a focus on special projects.

Udinski made his NFL debut as a coaching assistant in Carolina, where he worked under former Panthers head coach Matt Rhule from 2020-21. Rhule first hired Udinski as a graduate assistant at Baylor University in 2019. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said this season he believes Udinski will become a head coach and offensive coordinator soon.

The other known candidates for the Patriots’ offensive coordinator job were Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown and Chargers pass game coordinator Marcus Brady. Brown and Brady interviewed last week, which satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule mandating teams interview two external minority and/or female candidates for open coordinator positions.