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Josh McDaniels may be headed on a new adventure in the desert of Las Vegas, but the new Raiders coach isn’t forgetting how he got here. Because of his tenure with the New England Patriots, he became well-known.
He has won the world championship six times. It’s all thanks to New England.
Following his departure, McDaniels placed a full-page advertisement in The Boston Globe, mentioning Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and club owner Robert Kraft.
Josh McDaniels has been with the New England Patriots for 18 seasons.
Before the NFL game versus the New York Jets, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels gives Tom Brady #12 a high five | Boston Herald/MediaNews Group/Matt Stone
The Raiders hired McDaniels away from the Patriots for a purpose. He’s considered as maybe the finest and definitely the most accomplished offensive coordinator in the NFL.
For the last ten seasons, he has served as Belichick’s offensive coordinator and has played a key role in Brady’s success in New England. McDaniels notably failed as a head coach with the Denver Broncos, finishing 11-17 in two seasons (2009 and 2010), but he was given the chance due of his success with the Patriots up to that time. From 2006 through 2008, McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots. Prior to that promotion, he spent five seasons as an assistant coach with New England.
In all, he spent 18 of his 21 NFL seasons with the Patriots. He began his NFL career as a scouting assistant in 2001 and has since worked his way up the ranks.
According to NFL.com, McDaniels wrote, “When I got here 20 years ago, I had no children, no wife, no NFL experience, and, of course, no Super Bowl ring.”
“I’ve had a wonderful wife, four wonderful children, and six Super Bowl rings in my two decades here.” You’ve always been there for us, whether it was school carpools, club sports, my kids’ friendships, Nor’easters, the pandemic, or my insane schedule. You painted a great image of what an NFL football coach’s ‘HOME’ should be.”
McDaniels had a front-row seat to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s excellence.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick speaks with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh McDaniels | Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
McDaniels was an important part of the Patriots’ jigsaw, but the team’s success in New England began and finished with Belichick and Brady.
Few teams have achieved what Brady and Belichick did in New England.
Even at the NFL level, leadership is crucial, and the Patriots had two of the finest leaders in sports history. There was Bill Belichick, with his stern, no-nonsense coaching approach. He was and continues to be a ruthless decision maker who is just concerned with one thing: winning. As the franchise’s face, Brady was the ideal complement to Belichick. Sure, he was more appealing, but he also led with an one aim in mind: Super Bowl victories.
Neither of them were reluctant to call out individuals around them if they weren’t following the New England code of conduct. That norm resulted in a great deal of success. The six Super Bowl victories are self-evident.
McDaniels said in his letter to the Patriots that he got to see Brady play “the most crucial position in all of team sports better than anybody has ever played it.”
He had great regard for Belichick as well.
“Bill moulded me into the coach I am today by teaching me how to educate others how to pay this game I love,” he stated. “Bill’s genius has only been equaled in my life by his generosity, his desire to share with me essential coaching principles that have enormously affected and will continue to shape my profession and life.”
With the Raiders, McDaniels will be in a very different circumstance.
Consistency has been one of New England’s strongest assets throughout the years. Belichick has been the Patriots’ head coach since 2000 and shows no signs of stepping down. Since 1994, Kraft has owned the franchise and is completely behind and supportive of anything Belichick chooses to accomplish. Brady had been the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots for 19 seasons before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in free agency.
“THREE GOATS?!?” McDaniels remarked regarding Belichick, Brady, and Kraft, “What a group of talent I was honored to work with here.”
For what it’s worth, McDaniels will be dealing with a whole different set of circumstances in Vegas. He was obviously recruited by the Raiders to establish the same culture of stability and success that he had in New England, but he will have his work cut out for him.
Mark Davis has been the Raiders’ operating chief since 2011, and over that time, he’s watched six different head coaches attempt to lead the team. Jack Del Rio, who was the head coach from 2015 to 2017, has the longest tenure. Jon Gruden was given a fourth season with the Raiders, but he abruptly quit in the middle of the season after an investigation revealed racist, sexist, and homophobic emails Gruden wrote to then-Washington general manager Bruce Allen between 2011 and 2018.
Rich Bisaccia was named interim coach and guided the Raiders to the playoffs, but they were eliminated in the Wild Card round by the Cincinnati Bengals, prompting Davis to fire Bisaccia as head coach. Despite the fact that both quarterback Derek Carr and top defender Maxx Crosby publicly advocated for him, he was denied.
Carr’s contract will expire at the end of the 2022 season. Over the years, he’s been one of the top quarterbacks in the league, but he’s struggled to lead the Raiders to any meaningful victories. Because of his contract arrangement, the Raiders may release or trade him this summer without incurring any dead cap consequences. They’d save $19.7 million in the process.
On the other hand, if McDaniels believes he can repeat his success with Brady with his next quarterback, Vegas may give Carr a contract extension.
ESPN and Pro Football Reference provided the statistics. Spotrac provides contract information.
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