What is Next for Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels?

      Josh McDaniels has been the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for the New England Patriots for five seasons now.  He also worked with the Pats from 2001 to 2008, assisting the Patriots in all four of their Super Bowl runs.  Like every year, coaches are being fired and some are retiring from the game, and Josh McDaniels’ name has popped up multiple times to possibly fill the head coaching voids for various teams around the NFL.  The Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers are all looking to fill the vacant head coach position in the offseason.  All teams named, aside from the Broncos, fired their coach this year after an unsuccessful season.  Denver’s coach Gary Kubiak retired from the game after announcing Monday that “the demands of the job are no longer a fit for me.”  That leaves six NFL teams without a head coach for the 2017-2018 season.  Now, let’s review each of the possible destinations for the Patriots offensive coordinator.

Denver seems like the most ideal place for Josh McDaniels, as the team is loaded with talent and already has a winning culture.  However, the Broncos have yet to set up an interview with their former head coach Josh McDaniels.  The Broncos will likely turn to a veteran head coach, like Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, to take over with Kubiak retiring.  Next on the list for McDaniels is likely San Diego, who has an established quarterback in Philip Rivers that Josh McDaniels could work with, but the Chargers also do not seem interested in McDaniels at the moment.  The Buffalo Bills, with an iffy quarterback in Tyrod Taylor, are another option for the Patriots offensive coordinator.  Next in line for McDaniels would be the Los Angeles Rams, who have reached out to him and have set up a meeting for this weekend.  Another interested team who has set up a meeting with McDaniels is the Jacksonville Jaguars who have a mediocre quarterback in Blake Bortles.  Lastly, the worst team left without a coach is the San Francisco 49ers, who in my opinion are the team most likely to land McDaniels.  Even though they are the least talented team mentioned, and have a lunatic owner, the San Francisco 49ers are the only team listed above whose future can only go up.  The Bills, Jaguars, Rams, and Chargers can all possibly have a worse upcoming year with McDaniels after undergoing mediocre seasons, whereas the 49ers can really only get better after posting a 2-14 record this season.

Josh McDaniels can go into San Francisco with a clean slate.  The Patriots offensive coordinator will have little pressure on him as he attempts to revive the 49ers in their brand-new stadium.  Nonetheless, to bring Josh McDaniels to the 49ers, the team will likely have to give the Patriots offensive coordinator some freedom in doing what he wants.  The first need on Josh McDaniels’ list will likely be an established quarterback, which is not in San Francisco at the moment.  Colin Kaepernick is illegitimate and McDaniels is not going to let San Francisco test their waters for a quarterback in the draft.  This is why I believe McDaniels will demand bringing Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo along with him to the Bay Area.  This means that there will likely be a trade sending Garoppolo to the 49ers and possibly a second-round pick back to the Patriots.  With the relationship that McDaniels and Garoppolo have created since the 2014 NFL Draft, there should be no reason for the 49ers not to bite on this deal.  Josh McDaniels can come into San Francisco with a game plan and show the 49ers how he can utilize Garoppolo to win games for them just as he has done with Brady in New England.  In addition, the talent on the 49ers roster is likely going to improve as the team has a boatload of cap space to spend on big-name free agents during the offseason to surround Garoppolo with.

The 49ers, in fact, have shown interest in Josh McDaniels and have set up an interview with the Patriots offensive coordinator for this coming weekend.  Many people have written off the 49ers as a possible destination for Josh McDaniels because of the team’s lack of talent and McDaniels’ high interest around the league.  However, like I said earlier, the opportunity presents itself perfectly for Josh McDaniels in San Francisco after the firing of head coach Chip Kelly.  Although 49ers owner Jed York is a knucklehead and cannot be trusted after giving up on Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly after one year, it would only make sense for him to settle on a long-term head coach at this time.

Josh McDaniels has a plethora of options this offseason, and it would be crazy for him not to pounce on a head coaching opportunity at this point in his career.  The opportunity has presented itself to him before, but now it seems more likely that he will take advantage of it.  Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is only getting older at age 64, and Josh McDaniels, at age 40, may have 20 years of coaching still left in him.  It is highly unlikely that with all the head coach openings around the league in Buffalo, Denver, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco that Josh McDaniels does not pursue one of those teams.  San Francisco is the option that makes the most sense for both parties involved, as the only direction for the organization to go right now is up.  With a clean slate and a brand-new stadium, Josh McDaniels can work with Jimmy Garoppolo in San Francisco, just like he did with Brady in New England, and turn the 49ers into a winning franchise again.

Written by Nick Mattioli