Could Any Of These Patriots Alums Return After Josh McDaniels’ Firing?

It was the first and most obvious question after Josh McDaniels’ Raiders tenure came to an abrupt end early Wednesday morning:

Could McDaniels now land back in New England?

It wouldn’t be the first time the much-maligned coach rejoined his former employer. After he was fired by the Denver Broncos in 2010, McDaniels spent one season as the St. Louis Rams’ offensive coordinator, then linked back up with the Patriots for the 2011 playoff run and proceeded to spend the next decade in Foxboro.

We covered the possibility and potential complications of another McDaniels reunion. You can read that story right here.

But he wasn’t the only Patriots alum let go in Las Vegas’ seismic franchise shakeup. The Raiders also fired general manager Dave Ziegler, who worked in New England’s personnel department from 2013 through 2021.

Ziegler succeeded Nick Caserio as the Patriots’ director of personnel (their highest-ranking personnel man behind head coach/de facto GM Bill Belichick) in ’21 before leaving for Vegas along with McDaniels one year later. Matt Groh currently holds that job, with Eliot Wolf, Steve Cargile and Camren Williams serving in top roles beneath him.

McDaniels and Ziegler also assembled a coaching staff loaded with former New England assistants. The Raiders reportedly fired at least one of those coaches Wednesday (offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi) and promoted another (quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree) to replace him.

It’s unclear whether they plan to immediately remove any of the other assistants with Patriots ties. That list includes:

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham
Offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo
Tight ends coach Jerry Schuplinski
Senior defensive assistant Rob Ryan
Coaching assistant/returners Danny Amendola

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Ryan’s stint with the Patriots came way back in the early 2000s, and Amendola only played for New England. But Graham, Bricillo, Schuplinski, Lombardi, Hardegree and McDaniels all were part of a Patriots coaching staff within the last decade. All could be looking for work this offseason, depending on whether the Raiders’ next coaching regime chooses to retain any McDaniels hires.

Raiders owner Mark Davis notably did not tab any of those assistants to serve as interim head coach after McDaniels’ dismissal, choosing one of the few who did have a prior connection to McDaniels or the Patriots (linebackers coach Antonio Pierce).

Given Bill Belichick’s penchant for re-signing former players and rehiring ex-assistants — which he’s done in the past with McDaniels, Matt Patricia, Joe Judge, Brian Daboll and, most recently, Bill O’Brien — it would not be surprising to see one or more of those coaches make their way back to Foxboro in the coming months.

That’s assuming Belichick still is calling the shots in New England next season, though. And with the way things have gone lately for the 2-6 Patriots, that’s no guarantee.