Josh McDaniels made his way back to Foxborough in 2025, taking over as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator. And somehow, this offense has turned into one of the league’s best. Drake Maye looks every bit like a top-tier quarterback in just his second year. The passing attack is rolling. And the ground game is humming right along with it.

However, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated thinks that if a head coaching role came up for the third time in McDaniels’ career, the Patriots’ OC will listen.

“Josh McDaniels is a football coach and I would tell you that if a third opportunity came along, he would listen,” Breer told NBC Sports Boston. “I think it has to be the right place. I think this is an important piece here: It would have to be the right owner. And, of course, on the other side of this, a team would have to be interested. There’s less of a chance of that happening now after the way he flamed out in Denver and Vegas than there was the last two times he was in this sort of situation in New England.”

McDaniels has tried the head coaching gig in the NFL a couple of times. But things never worked out for him. His 20-33 record with the Denver Broncos and the Las Vegas Raiders screams louder why he returned to the offensive coordinator job. But in a what-if scenario where a head coaching job does come knocking, Breer pointed out that a few key factors would come into play.

For starters, the right team should be interested in McDaniels for the HC role after his couple of rough stints in Denver and Vegas. Secondly, McDaniels struggled to find success in Vegas (9-16 record in 2022 and 2023 combined); there’s no denying that. However, he would probably not want to work for an owner like Mark Davis. Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter revealed the reason why.

“Mark Davis told [McDaniels] and Dave Ziegler, if you beat the Patriots, you’re going to get another year, and then just a short time later, they’re in Detroit for Monday Night Football, and Mark decided to go a different direction.”

After getting fired by the Raiders, McDaniels stepped away from football in 2024 and even joked that he’d gotten pretty good at pickleball during his time off. But once the Patriots brought in Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, McDaniels found his way back to New England. Yes, for the third time.

Long story short: While Breer believes Vrabel’s offensive coordinator wouldn’t think twice about taking a head coaching gig if the chance comes along, Vrabel himself hasn’t been shy about praising what his OC’s brought to the table.

Mike Vrabel praised his OC in every aspect of his coaching

Mike Vrabel rebuilt the Patriots after joining as their next head coach. He changed most of the roster and didn’t feel shy away from picking his own coaching staff. Bringing McDaniels for the play-calling duties was one such decision. Fast forward to now, the Patriots are 6-2 with one of the best offenses in the league.

This is exactly why the HC praised his OC in every aspect of his coaching. Per The Athletic, Vrabel lauded OC’s ability “to collaborate and come together” with the offensive staff. The HC pointed out that McDaniels listens to everyone’s ideas, then picks the best ones to use each week. But it was his play-calling skills that Vrabel found most intriguing.

“That’s an understanding of what we need, where they’re at, what they’re trying to do,” Mike Vrabel said. “Trying to marry some concepts together with some of their run actions. I think he’s done a great job, not only this year, but being able to see what he’s done in the past, that’s always just a feel of, ‘We showed this. (Now) let’s try to show them the same presentation, but run a different play.”

McDaniels is closing in on two decades with the Patriots. And at just 49, there’s still plenty of time left in his coaching journey. Now, it’s just a matter of seeing how this latest chapter in New England plays out for him or whether he’d join another team as an HC.