Drake Maye

Can Josh McDaniels help Drake Maye reach a new level? Phil Perry breaks down what makes the new Patriots offensive coordinator a great fit.

Can Josh McDaniels help Drake Maye reach a new level? Phil Perry breaks down what makes the new Patriots offensive coordinator a great fit.

Josh McDaniels is great at developing quarterbacks, and now his job as Patriots offensive coordinator is to take Drake Maye to the next level.

The Patriots are expected to hire Josh McDaniels as OC under new HC Mike Vrabel, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. It's a homecoming for McDaniels, who had two previous stints with New England. He ran the offense from 2006 to 2008 and then again from 2012 to 2021. The Patriots ranked top eight in points in 12 of McDaniels' 13 seasons and top 11 in yards in 10 of 13. Of course, the majority of those offenses were quarterbacked by Tom Brady. In three years without Brady, McDaniels' Patriots finished eighth, 27th, and sixth in points; fifth, 27th, and 15th in yards. McDaniels also spent two seasons as Broncos HC (2009-2010), one as Rams OC (2011), and two as Raiders HC (2022-2023). None of those teams ranked better than 12th in yards or points. McDaniels has shown the ability to morph his offense to fit the personnel, with eight top-10 finishes in rushing yards and 10 top-10 finishes in passing yards. He's not as exciting for QB Drake Maye and this Patriots offense as Ben Johnson or even Liam Coen would have been. But McDaniels is at least a known commodity and should bring some stability to this offense in 2025. We'll see what the team does this offseason to upgrade the offensive line and skill positions.

We can't say that comes as a real surprise. McDaniels reportedly completed an interview with the Patriots for their offensive coordinator vacancy today. The former Pats OC from 2012-2021 obviously has a ton of familiarity with how things operate in New England. The Raiders head coaching role was a tough fit for him and exposed him as a little rigid at times -- there were certainly games where Davante Adams disappeared in the process -- but he has the best resume of anyone we've seen connected to this job. McDaniels did not coach in 2024 after being fired in November 2023. He was tied to the Patriots often last offseason as well. Now we'll get to see if he can take Drake Maye to the next level in 2025. If the Patriots add some more weapons around Maye, they could be an intriguing fantasy offense next season.