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New England Patriots Should Hope Josh McDaniels Gets a Head Coaching Gig

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By @petahrahgas

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Over the years I have made my feelings towards New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pretty obvious. If you follow me on Twitter, you know during every game, I’ll send out at least one tweet shouting obscenities at McDaniels as he tries to call some cute screen play that ultimately gets blown up and loses five yards.

And now the Patriots have a chance to get rid of him.

With practically half the NFL looking for new head coaches (the exact number is six teams, so I slightly exaggerated), there has been a lot of interest expressed in McDaniels, particularly from the Atlanta Falcons and the San Francisco 49ers, both of which have interviewed the offensive coordinator. The 49ers have had a history with McDaniels, wanting him back in 2011, and they’re hoping he’d be able to fix the unwatchable mess that was their offense. The Falcons are run by former Patriots front office members Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli, so there are certainly connections between the two teams.

As for Patriots fans, getting rid of McDaniels would mean the Patriots could finally have an identity on offense. I don’t know what it is about McDaniels, but he can never seem to make up his mind about what kind of offensive team the Patriots are. Are they a pass first team that relies on quick screens to move the ball? Are they a run first team that power runs then uses play action? Are they a team that just chucks the ball down the field looking for the big play? For the most part of his tenure with the Patriots (since his return in 2012), the offense has looked like a sloppy mess of all these things.

Back when McDaniels was making a mockery of the Denver Broncos and their decision to pick him as a head coach (let’s not forget, he drafted Tim Tebow in the first round!), the Patriots’ offense was led by Bill O’Brien who was able to use the players he had around him to the best of their abilities. This was the height of the two tight end sets. This was the time when Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez took over the NFL and made every team want tight ends. The Patriots had an identity then; it was two tight end sets, run the football, then play action to Gronk or get the ball to Hernandez in space and let him break ankles. Sprinkle in some Wes Welker and a little Julian Edelman and you have a passing attack.

Obviously I understand that upon McDaniels’ return, Hernandez was sent to his new home in prison and Gronk has been off and on injured, but I’m sick of McDaniels calling screen plays on third and a mile or wheel routes out of the backfield that routinely bounce out of reach on third-and-2. Or the worst of all — and of course my personal favorite — is when the Patriots get the run game going and move the ball down the field, but then once they get inside their opponents’ 10-yard line, they call three pass plays which don’t work and have to settle for a field goal. Brilliant coaching.

To his credit, McDaniels did coordinate the 2007 record-breaking season, but he had the greatest deep threat in the NFL in Randy Moss and the best slot receiver of this generation in Wes Welker. His offensive playbook was “Deep shot to Moss. If not there, pass underneath to wide open Welker.” Not exactly rocket science.

Too long I as a fan have watched the Patriots struggle offensively when they have the best quarterback in the league, a stable of bruising running backs and plenty of receiving weapons. Too long I’ve seen the Patriots go three-and-out because they try a cute play on first down, another on second down, then bomb the ball down the field to a double-covered receiver on third down. I’m tired of McDaniels and his antics, and the Foxborough faithful have grown tired as well. Let’s just hope someone out there wants him as a head coach.

Peter Rogers is a New England Patriots writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @petahrahgas, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

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