Former Apprentice Josh McDaniels Looking To Dethrone Bill Belichick, Patriots
Josh McDaniels, the New England Patriots’ former offensive coordinator who is in his first season as the Denver Broncos head coach, is beginning to look, sound and act like his old boss. McDaniels has mimicked Belichick’s fashion sense, and the pair even offered nearly identical responses to a question they were each asked Wednesday.
At about 11 a.m., Belichick was asked if he’s had any conversations with McDaniels since Sunday, to which the Patriots coach replied, “Right now, the communication is between all the people that are involved in this team trying to get ready to play our opponent. That’s the way it is every week.”
Faced with the same question three hours later on a conference call with the New England media, McDaniels said, “I’ve had a lot of communication with our staff this week. We’re working hard to try to beat them this week, so that’s where my focus is and I’m sure that’s where Bill’s is this week as well.”
McDaniels has picked up much more from Belichick than how to deal with the media, though. The Broncos, who are off to a 4-0 start and host the Patriots on Sunday, have revamped their defense in the post-Mike Shanahan era. McDaniels and defensive coordinator Mike Nolan have implemented a 3-4 scheme that also offers a variety of sub-packages with multiple looks, and they’re keeping offenses off balance as a result. Denver is holding teams to an NFL-low 6.5 points per game, nearly seven points better than the league’s next-best defense.
Broncos All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey credits McDaniels with preparing the team better than any coach he has ever played for, which is universally heard in the New England locker room when players talk about Belichick.
“I tell you what, just being under Josh McDaniels for a few months now, I mean, he’s a guy that is going to have you as prepared as you can be for a game, and that’s something that throughout my 11 years I haven’t had a lot of,” Bailey said. “I’ve had some great coaches including Shanahan, but [McDaniels] is definitely one of a kind in the way that he approaches the game.”
Bailey alluded to a couple of examples this season. Brandon Stokley caught a deflected pass and ran it 87 yards for a game-winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1. Surely, it’s not how the play was drawn up, but Stokley had the presence of mind to make a smart play.
Last week, the Dallas Cowboys drove the ball to the Denver 2-yard line in the final minute and needed a touchdown to force overtime. Bailey knocked away two consecutive passes intended for receiver Sam Hurd to seal the Broncos’ victory.
“When you get in situations like that, you have to be prepared, and obviously [McDaniels] puts us through those situations in practice in close situations,” Bailey said. “Everybody knows what’s going to happen, what we expect from each other on the field when we get in certain situations. Fourth-and-goal, we know what plays are going to be called. I think that preparation helps us overcome the close games and helps us come out on top because we know what to expect when it gets close like that.”
While McDaniels admitted he wasn’t completely aware of how many little decisions he’d have to make on a day-to-day basis as a head coach, he has certainly been prepped on how to handle the major workings of putting together a winning game plan for Sundays.
The understudy — the spawn of Belichick — has one man to thank for that.
“Bill has helped me out in many different ways in terms of my knowledge about the game, in terms of my understanding of some of the things you need to do as an organization to be successful,” McDaniels said. “Personally, he’s helped me out in personal areas of my life, so there are a lot of things Bill has helped me with. I’ve had a lot of conversations with him, some of which I’ll definitely keep to myself in private. But, he’s been the biggest influence on my success, and I will always be indebted to him.”
