New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Patriots reportedly are bringing back a familiar face.
New England hired Josh McDaniels as its offensive coordinator, according to multiple reports Tuesday night. It will be McDaniels’ third tour of duty with the Patriots, including the third time he’s served as the team’s offensive coordinator.
Here are the biggest winners and losers after the Patriots reported hiring:
Winners
Drake Maye
The Patriots quarterback should be excited about McDaniels, who’s developed quarterbacks like Tom Brady (he played some role, at least), Jimmy Garoppolo as well as Mac Jones and others. The fact Jones, who spiraled following McDaniels’ exit and now would be lucky to retain a backup job, played as well as he did under McDaniels says a lot. The top priority for the Patriots should be Maye’s development, and they tabbed a coach who should have that locked down.
Kendrick Bourne
Bourne’s initial reaction to the reported hire tells you all you need to know. The veteran wideout had the best season of his career under McDaniels in 2021. Bourne, catching passes from Jones, had caught 55 balls for 800 yards and five touchdowns — all career highs. Bourne’s production took a hit after McDaniels’ departure and now that he’s had a year to recover from his ACL surgery, the 29-year-old could be in for a rebound.
Hunter Henry
You don’t need to turn back the clock all the way to when Rob Gronkowski excelled in McDaniels’ offense, Henry has played for him, too. The veteran tight end signed with New England and turned into Jones’ trusted target. Henry caught 50 balls on 75 targets for 603 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns during the 2021 season. He has a rebound year in 2024, but there’s
Fans hoping for a QB-run game
This is a tie-in to Maye, of course. McDaniels has coached some talented passing (Brady, obviously) and running quarterbacks (Tim Tebow, Cam Newton), but he hasn’t had any with the dual-threat potential of Maye. He reportedly was intrigued by Lamar Jackson, but that never came to fruition. One way to unlock New England’s offense is to center it around Maye like the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens do for their superstar signal-callers. Chances are McDaniels will do just that.
Losers
Young receivers
McDaniels’ offense was viewed as a difficult-to-comprehend one for younger players, including receivers. Many pointed to that as a reason young receivers (N’Keal Harry, etc.) failed to excel in New England. If that proves to be the case going forward, it’s probably not great news for 2024 second-rounder Ja’Lynn Polk and 2024 fourth-rounder Javon Baker, who couldn’t get on the field because he struggled to learn the playbook. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, however, insinuated McDaniels’ offense could be “more user-friendly” this time around.
Alex Van Pelt
There remains a slight possibility Van Pelt remains on the coaching staff — Vrabel previously kept both an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach — but he’s lost his play-calling duties. That’s an obvious step back for the veteran assistant....
