New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft is hoping that familiar faces can lead the team out of the AFC East cellar and back to prominence. After a second straight 4-13 season in 2024, the team fired first-year head coach Jerod Mayo and handed the reins to former Patriots’ linebacker Mike Vrabel. Then New England reunited with former OC Josh McDaniels.

According to Kraft, the McDaniels hire was part of Vrabel’s vision. “When we interviewed Mike and asked whom he might be interested in bringing on, without a pause, his first one was to bring Josh McDaniels because he thought it would be something very special for Drake [Maye],” Kraft explained per The Athletic’s Chad Graff on X.

“It was his [Vrabel’s] decision. Josh was very excited. Hope we get the fruits of the potential positives out of that. He has a pretty good history of developing and dealing with good quarterbacks,” Kraft added, damning with faint praise.

While McDaniels has an unassailable coaching record with the Patriots, including being on staff for all six Super Bowl wins in the Brady/Belichick era (with three titles as offensive coordinator), he’s fared… somewhat less well elsewhere.

The Patriots welcomed Josh McDaniels home

McDaniels first ventured out on his own in 2009, taking the head coaching job with the Denver Broncos. After an 8-8 debut season he was fired following a 3-9 start in 2010. McDaniels ultimately returned to New England and won three more rings before parting again after the 2021 season – the last time the Patriots reached the playoffs – for another head coaching opportunity. This time with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Of course, McDaniels’ second attempt at running a team was even more disastrous than his first, and he was fired in the middle of his second season in Las Vegas after compiling a 9-16 record. Adding insult to injury, it was revealed that McDaniels completely lost the locker room after a vicious team meeting in which players spoke out against the coach.

Whatever his shortcomings as a head coach, McDaniels has undeniably had great success running an offense in the NFL. Sure, those offenses were led by Tom Brady and the team was helmed by Bill Belichick. But the point is that McDaniels’ Patriots offenses worked. And he has the rings to prove it.

New England appears to have a bright future with Drake Maye coming off a promising rookie campaign and Mike Vrabel taking over the team. Now Kraft and Patriots fans hope that McDaniels can finally find success without the luxury of having Brady as his quarterback.