The New England Patriots bring Josh McDaniels back into the fold, and he will begin his third stint as the team’s offensive coordinator.
After tapping Mike Vrabel to be their head coach, the Patriots bring another familiar face back to Foxborough. Despite struggling considerably as a head coach with the Broncos and Raiders, McDaniels has been an elite offensive mind with 14 seasons of success as coordinator for the Patriots and Rams. Some of Tom Brady’s most gaudy seasons happened within McDaniels’ offense, especially in 2007, when the team went 16-0 and Brady threw for over 4800 yards and 50 touchdowns (a single-season record at the time). McDaniels is now many years removed from his early glory days, but the question remains, can he have the same impact on the current culture, and most importantly, can he get the most out of Drake Maye.
The Patriots selected Maye 3rd overall in 2024 and after sitting behind Jacoby Brissett for the first 5 games of the season, the rookie QB threw for 2276 yards and 15 touchdowns in 12 full games. Maye will likely not be throwing for 5000 yards any time soon, though he will hopefully see maximum development in his second year with an unquestionable improvement over Alex Van Pelt’s 2024 system.
Author: Blake Stachel @bllakkay (IG)