Returning to the New England Patriots for his third stint as the team’s offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels is quite the familiar face on the sideline in Foxboro. His offensive staff, however, is anything but.
As the Patriots filled out the offensive staff this winter, they did so with nine additional coaches who have never worked under McDaniels. That has led to a collaborative approach in forming a new-look version of McDaniels’ typical offense.
“That’s kudos to Josh, because he’s had a ton of success in his past and he’s been very open to the new schemes and new systems and new techniques,” quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant said. “So I think it’s going to be fun. And he’s been super open to that.”
While many of McDaniels’ main philosophies have been visible during OTAs, new wrinkles are apparent as well. Much of that stems from his staff coming from different West Coast backgrounds, such as Grant coming from Cleveland and wide receiver coach Todd Downing and running back coach Tony Dews spending time on Mike Vrabel’s former staffs in Tennessee.
New England also named Thomas Brown, who has a similar experience in West Coast offenses from his time under Sean McVay and Frank Reich, the team’s first passing game coordinator.
“Every place I’ve been has been different. Some guys [take] less input than others,” Brown said. “I think [McDaniels has] done a really good job first off, laying out how he sees the offense from a philosophical standpoint and building it from the ground up, but then also being open to hearing about our experiences in the past and things that kind of marry and fit with our system and also most important with our players.”
On Monday — which kicked off the Patriots’ third and final week of OTAs — that led to McDaniels dialing up plays that were rather new to him.
“We’re putting plays in today that I don’t have much experience doing, but I know that they’re good for our team. I know these guys have a lot of experience doing those things where they’ve been too,” McDaniels said. “We’re a first-year staff together, and we’re all just grinding away trying to make sure that we’re ready each day. They’ve done a tremendous job with their position groups, and I really enjoy the process.
“When you take a lot of people from different backgrounds, they have such good experience and wisdom doing things that you don’t, it makes a lot of sense for me to learn from them and what they can teach me. That stuff is going to be used to help our team produce more points, more yards, more first downs, and hopefully good plays. There’s a good chunk of it that I’m learning and adapting too.”
The results followed as the Patriots offense had their best performance among the three spring sessions open to the media. That was led by quarterback Drake Maye completing a handful of highlights including a corner route in between defenders to Kayshon Boutte and a downfield wheel route to Rhamondre Stevenson, who made a fingertip grab on a pretty throw from the QB.
“[Maye is] doing really well. He’s very smart, works really hard. I think the quarterback room in general is really, really good in terms of putting the time and effort in at this point in time of the year,” McDaniels said. “I think he’s doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and go out there with a great attitude and mindset the next day.”
It hasn’t all been perfect as Maye continues to adjust to life in McDaniels’ system — highlighted by his four interception practice earlier this spring. But, the 22-year old’s ability to avoid repeat mistakes and make those corrections has stood out to the coordinator.
“He does a really good job of listening,” McDaniels said. “When you go out there the next time and see the same kind of look or the same problem the defense presents to you, he’s a quick study on that, and that’s a good thing for a young player.”
