Patriots hire Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator: Six-time Super Bowl champion returns to New England

Once again, Josh McDaniels will serve as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. As expected, the team is hiring McDaniels after speaking with him on Tuesday, according to CBS Sports senior NFL insider Jonathan Jones. The Patriots made the move official Wednesday.

McDaniels joins a team that is being assembled by new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who, like McDaniels, was part of several Super Bowl-winning teams in New England. Vrabel and McDaniels were together in New England from 2001 to 2008, when the franchise won its first three Super Bowls and in 2007 became the only team to go undefeated through 16 games of the NFL regular season.

Vrabel was a player at the time, while McDaniels moved from personal assistant to quarterbacks coach and the team’s offensive coordinator. McDaniels’ success in New England during this period led him to become head coach of the Broncos for two seasons. He then spent one season as the Rams’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach before returning to New England in 2012.

The Patriots have never won a Super Bowl without McDaniels, who left the franchise a second time after the 2021 season to become the Raiders’ head coach. McDaniels hadn’t played football since Las Vegas fired him during the 2023 season.

McDaniels will now be tasked with the task of improving a Patriots offense that was 30th in the NFL last year. McDaniels already has an important piece in place in quarterback Drake Maye, who showed promise last year despite the offense’s overall struggles.