Patriots OC Josh McDaniels Not Expected To Pursue HC Opportunities During Playoffs

According to Aaron Wilson, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels is not expected to pursue any head coaching opportunities during the postseason despite having “significant interest” around the league. 

Wilson adds that McDaniels is “focused solely on preparations for the playoffs.” It’s worth noting there have been no reports of him turning down any interview requests so far.

McDaniels has come up annually for head coaching jobs and it will be interesting to see if he interviews anywhere once New England is out of playoff contention. 

Two weeks ago, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora wrote there have been questions in the past about McDaniels’ willingness to leave New England. Patriots HC Bill Belichick has also worked hard at various times to retain him, including denying the Giants’ request to interview McDaniels and offering up Joe Judge instead. 

However, La Canfora added that was not expected to be an issue this year. Belichick has been more willing to talk up McDaniels in press conferences and it was believed he’d allow McDaniels to interview when the window opened.

McDaniels, 45, began his NFL coaching career with the Patriots as a personnel assistant back in 2001. He worked his way up to offensive coordinator in New England before he departed for the Broncos head-coaching job in 2009.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go very well for McDaniels with the Broncos and he was fired during his second year with the team. After a brief stint with the Rams as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, McDaniels returned to the Patriots and has been running their offense ever since.

McDaniels agreed to become the head coach of the Colts a few years ago before later backing out of the agreement to remain in New England. He also drew interest last in 2020 from the Browns, Panthers, and Giants, but elected to stay with the Patriots.

Last offseason, he was regarded as a “prime candidate” for the Eagles head coaching job, but they wound up hiring Nick Sirianni.  

In 2021, the Patriots’ offense ranked No. 15 in total yards, No. 14 in passing yards, No. 8 in rushing yards, and No. 6 in total points.