Josh McDaniels was very patient before he took the second head-coaching job of his NFL career.
McDaniels annually was a popular name in the HC hiring cycle after he returned to the New England Patriots in 2012. He even appeared to be on the verge of becoming the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 before he ultimately decided to stick around in Foxboro.
It wasn’t until the Las Vegas Raiders needed to replace Jon Gruden/Rich Bisaccia last month that McDaniels finally decided to leave the staff he’d coached on for 18 seasons. The 45-year-old clearly was very selective when it came to his next big opportunity, and many believed it was added power — specifically over roster control — that McDaniels had been waiting for all this time.
McDaniels refuted that theory in a recent conversation with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
“Nope, it’s actually the opposite,” McDaniels told Breer. “You know it’s ironic but it’s actually always been about the opposite for me. Would I like to have an opportunity to build the team the way that I feel like is right to do it? Sure. But I also know I don’t want to do every other role. I want to be good in the role that I’m good at, and that I’m supposed to be good at. And to have somebody that you trust and that you can lean on and count on in all those other areas, that’s really important.”
McDaniels undoubtedly will be able to have his voice heard over roster decisions in Las Vegas. The Raiders’ new general manager, Dave Ziegler, who also left New England for Vegas, has a relationship with McDaniels that dates back to their college days at John Carroll University.
The longtime Patriots offensive coordinator has put himself in a great situation in Vegas, and now it’s on him to make the most of it.
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