Patriots To Hire McDaniels

Former St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is heading back to New England.

Josh McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, the Patriots put up ridiculous offensive numbers, led by future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. That season, Brady threw an NFL record 50 touchdown passes, and Randy Moss caught an NFL record 23 touchdown passes. The Patriots were constantly putting up 40+ points every game, usually in a blowout effort. This all culminated in the Patriots being the first team to go the entire regular season undefeated since the 1972 Dolphins.

That season did not end all too well, as the Patriots lost to the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. However, that season with McDaniels leading the offense was record-breaking and simply fun to watch. Unfortunately, Brady was lost to a torn ACL for the whole season during their home opener against the Chiefs. Although the Patriots went 11-5, they failed to make the playoffs. McDaniels left the following offseason to take the head coaching position with the Broncos, one that did not work out so well.

McDaniels was fired in the middle of the 2010 season, struggling mightily after getting off to a hot start in his first several games as the coach. This past season, McDaniels was the offensive coordinator for the Rams, and that did not work out so well either. However, McDaniels is being hired by the Patriots again, after current offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien took the head coaching position at Penn State. Even better for McDaniels, he is allowed to start contributing as an offensive assistant right away.

This essentially means McDaniels went from the worst situation and the worst team in football with the Rams, to the best team in the AFC with the Patriots, in the same season. I don't know if McDaniels can ask for more. The real problem for the rest of the league is that McDaniels is back with Brady. The Patriots offense was clicking at the beginning of the year, especially against the Dolphins in the season opener.

With McDaniels in the fold, the Patriots could be approaching another one of those 2007 record-breaking seasons again. The only thing holding them back right now is their defense. It is very young right now, but it has been ranked near the bottom in most defensive categories. Maybe that will change next season. No one really knows, but we can expect the offense to be firing passes all over the field again next season.