Josh McDaniels Return? Patriots Insider Gives Update After Mike Vrabel Hire

The New England Patriots might not be done with coaching staff reunions after the team announced Mike Vrabel as their newest head coach.

Vrabel spent eight seasons with New England, winning three Super Bowl titles amid the franchise’s dynasty run. The 49-year-old also accumulated plenty of coaching experience with the Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and most recently the Cleveland Browns. But Vrabel’s return to Foxboro might not be the only one this offseason.

“(Josh McDaniels) will be in the mix,” Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi reported Sunday when asked on X.

McDaniels is a longtime friend of the program and New England’s former offensive coordinator. The 48-year-old split from the Patriots in 2022, ending a run that began in 2012, to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. However, McDaniels’ time in Las Vegas took an ugly turn and he was fired after less than two seasons on the job.

Vrabel’s stint as a player (2001-2008) fell right under McDaniels’ earliest years working under then-head coach Bill Belichick. So although the two have never shared a sideline as coaching staff colleagues, Vrabel and McDaniels are still plenty familiar with one another. Perhaps now, with the Jerod Mayo stint a thing of the past, the time has come for McDaniels to return and repair his brutal departure amid the team’s Mac Jones era.

New England has also been linked to New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen.