Josh Mcdaniels - Pro Football Rumors

Latest On Lions Coaching Situation

October 27th, 2016 at 8:37am CST by Zachary Links

Jim Caldwell‘s seat was looking pretty hot earlier this month, but talk of a coaching change in Detroit has cooled now that the Lions are on a three-game winning streak. However, things change quickly in the NFL and there’s no guarantee that Caldwell will be back in 2017 if the Lions cannot keep it up in the second half. If there is a head coaching change, Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com hears that Lions GM Bob Quinn would probably consider Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia to Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

In a scenario where McDaniels was hired as the Lions’ head coach, current offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter would probably be squeezed out. Given how well Cooter has worked with quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Lions are likely eager to hang on to their OC. And, at the young age of 32, Cooter can probably be kept as OC for at least a few more years.

Of course, the Lions are going to have to make a serious commitment to keep Stafford in place as he excels in his contract year.

Josh McDaniels Likely To Pursue HC Jobs

September 25th, 2016 at 2:45pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels appears ready to jump back into head coaching, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link), who says that McDaniels will look to secure a top job this offseason.

As La Canfora notes, McDaniels’ stock could be at an all-time high at the moment, meaning he’s in a position to “cash in” while landing a new position. In his second stint as New England’s play-caller, McDaniels has helped lead the club to several playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title in 2015. This season, McDaniels has dealt with turnover at quarterback, but still managed to guide the Patriots offense en route to a 3-0 start.

McDaniels, of course, has already had one go-round as a head coach, as he led the Broncos from 2009-10. After beginning his Denver tenure with an 6-0 record, McDaniels proceeded to post a 5-17 record from there on out, losing the team amid reports of micromanagement. He was fired midway through the 2010 campaign, then spent a year with the Rams before returning to the Patriots.

Now 40, McDaniels was linked to the Titans and Dolphins vacancies last offseason, but never officially interviewed for either position.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pats Notes: QBs, McDaniels, Defense, Kickoffs

September 23rd, 2016 at 8:59am CST by Connor J. Byrne

With Tom Brady amid a suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo too injured to play Thursday, the Patriots made the risky decision of entering their game against Houston with third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett and wide receiver Julian Edelman as their only options at quarterback. It ended up working out, as the Pats shellacked the Texans, 27-0, and didn’t have to turn to Edelman. Brissett had an uneventful night through the air in his first NFL start, going 11 of 19 for 103 yards, but he rushed for 48 yards on eight attempts and added a 27-yard score.

Before the game, team president Jonathan Kraft explained why the Patriots didn’t sign a free agent signal-caller earlier in the week, telling 98.5 The Sports Hub (via Phil Perry of CSNNE.com), “If you were to sign another quarterback, you’d have to cut a player that’s on your 53-man roster that you like. Odds are he’s going to have to clear waivers, and odds are if he’s leaving our organization, he very well might not. And we like the 53 men on this team, the 46 that are dressed tonight, and we understand the things that might happen. It’s football, and I think everyone feels like this gives our team the best chance of winning the football game.”

The Pats worked out free agents T.J. Yates and Sean Renfree on Tuesday, but they opted against signing either. Now, with extra time to prepare for its Week 4 game against Buffalo, New England could get Garoppolo back from a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. Brady will then come off the suspended list in Week 5.

More on the NFL’s first 3-0 team of 2016:

Head coach Bill Belichick has gotten the lion’s share of the credit for Brady-less New England’s undefeated start, but Ryan Hannable of WEEI posits that offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels might deserve just as much praise. McDaniels has had two QBs, Garoppolo and Brissett, make their first career starts this year, and he had to get the latter ready on a short week. Nevertheless, both Garoppolo and Brissett have held their own this year. “He ultimately gets everyone ready to play. It’s fun,” receiver Danny Amendola said of McDaniels, who’s seemingly on the fast track to another head coaching job, as Hannable writes. McDaniels’ first try, in which he went 11-19 in Denver from 2009-10, failed, but the 40-year-old has further established himself as one of the league’s top assistants since.
The Patriots’ defense might be even more terrifying for the rest of the league than Brady’s forthcoming return, argues Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. The unit embarrassed the Brock Osweiler-led Texans, holding him to 196 yards and an interception on 24 of 41 passing. Additionally, running back Lamar Miller totaled a subpar 3.8 yards per carry on 21 attempts, while elite receiver DeAndre Hopkins recorded only four catches for 56 yards. “We were shocked. We couldn’t get anything going,” said Texans tight end Ryan Griffin.
Belichick is among the coaches who have exploited the league’s new touchback rule this year, writes Reyes. Moving the ball from the 20 to the 25 on touchbacks was done to limit kick returns, but the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski intentionally booted two kicks short of the end zone. The Texans fumbled on both returns, and New England recovered deep in Houston territory on each occasion. “Our kickoff guys are doing a great job. It would be dumb just to kick it out of the end zone every time right now,” stated Gostkowski. Said Belichick, “It seemed like (the Texans) had to go 90 yards every time they had the ball. Our kickoff team, once again, came up big with field position; two turnovers. That’s a very aggressive unit.”

AFC East Notes: Bills, Roman, Jets, Patriots

September 18th, 2016 at 9:37pm CST by Zachary Links

Here’s the latest from the AFC East:

A recent report indicated that former Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman has hard feelings towards Rex Ryan and felt that being associated with the outspoken coach would be damaging to his career. For what it’s worth, Roman went on the record with Alex Marvez of The Sporting News and denied any issues with Ryan. “I have nothing but respect for coach Ryan and I thought we had a great working relationship,” Roman said. “We met and he informed me of his decision. I thought it was handled very professionally. We then discussed how we could best make this work for everybody moving forward.”
After Brandon Marshall landed awkwardly on Thursday night, Jets coach Todd Bowles told reporters that the wide receiver was “fine.” Apparently, that’s not entirely the case. Marshall suffered an MCL injury and while the team believes that he’ll be ready to go against the Chiefs, it’s not a guarantee, a source tells Mike Florio of PFT. It’s an injury worth keeping an eye on as Marshall is arguably Gang Green’s greatest weapon. Through two games this year, Marshall has nine catches for 133 yards. In 2015, Marshall had 109 receptions for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns – arguably his strongest season to date.
Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has once again established himself as a hot head coaching candidate, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano writes. The Pats have now gone 2-0 without Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski and they even survived on Sunday afternoon without Jimmy Garoppolo for much of the game. “I was more so worried if (Garoppolo) was going to be OK or not,” running back LeGarrette Blount said. “As far as how we were going to do as an offense, I wasn’t worried about that.” McDaniels went 11-17 as the head coach of the Broncos before he was fired late in the 2010 season.
Speaking of Garoppolo, he’ll likely miss New England’s game against the Texans on Thursday because of a sprained AC joint in his throwing shoulder. That would open the door for third-round rookie Jacoby Brissett to make his first NFL start.

East Notes: McDaniels, Dolphins, Bills

July 31st, 2016 at 10:35am CST by Rory Parks

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, whose brief stint as Denver’s head coach from 2009-2010 was generally a disaster, has more than rehabilitated his reputation since reprising his role as New England OC in 2012. He is mentioned as a top head coaching candidate each offseason, and as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes, McDaniels has never been more decisive about his desire to return to the head coaching ranks than he was when speaking with media this week.

McDaniels said, “[New England] is an incredible place to work, I love being here and I’m happy to do this job as much as I can, as long as they’ll have me. I do want to be a head coach again at some point in my life. I’ve learned a lot over the last so many years and hopefully gained a lot of wisdom and if and when that time comes, I’d look forward to the challenge of doing it again.” Those statements have led Reiss to wonder if McDaniels might be more aggressive about pursuing a head coaching job in the near future.

Now for some more news and notes from the league’s east divisions:

The Dolphins placed Dion Jordan on the non-football injury list today, and there is some intrigue surrounding the move. Per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter), head coach Adam Gase and the rest of the Miami brass were unaware that Jordan had knee surgery prior to his reinstatement, and as Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald tweets, Jordan declined to say how he injured his knee while not playing football since 2014. For what it’s worth, Gase did say that Jordan “has a fresh start with me. Whatever happened in the past is irrelevant” (Twitter link via Adam Beasley of The Miami Herald).
In addition to placing Jordan on the NFI list, the Dolphins made a couple of cornerback moves and activated Arian Foster from the PUP list, according to this team’s official website (via Twitter). Foster practiced with his new club this morning.
The Bills have made a habit of acquiring players with troubled pasts in recent years (see, e.g., Kiko Alonso, Richie Incognito, etc.), and some of those decisions have worked out better than others. But as John Kryk of The Toronto Sun writes, Buffalo GM Doug Whaley is not changing his philosophy in that regard anytime soon, despite the recent troubles of running backs Karlos Williams and Jonathan Williams. Said Whaley, “We always have the same philosophy of taking every player on a case-by-case basis. Granted, we’re disappointed (in the Williamses). But I think what we have here with the support system, with the locker room, the coaching staff, our player-engagement staff, once we get them here I think we do a good job.”
Justin Durant, whom the Cowboys recently signed to give them a viable option at middle linebacker in Rolando McClain‘s absence, was seriously contemplating retirement before coming back to Dallas, according to Clarence Hill of The Star-Telegram. But the 30-year-old Durant said, “You just get that itch. Once I started looking at TV and seeing everybody going back to OTAs and stuff, I just figured I wasn’t done yet. I feel like I still have the ability to play, and I guess this organization felt like I could still play.

Titans Hire Jon Robinson As GM

January 14th, 2016 at 7:28pm CST by Zachary Links

7:28pm: The Titans have officially announced the hiring of Robinson as their new general manager.

“As we visited with Jon and researched his career, his proven track record for scouting talent, leadership skills, and ability to build relationships make him an ideal candidate to lead our football operation,” controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement. “Jon is a proud Tennessean who is excited to be coming home, and we look forward to the future of our football team under his leadership.”

8:51am: The Titans are set to hire Jon Robinson as their GM, as Terry McCormick of Cover32 reports. Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) first ID’d Robinson as the frontrunner for the job. An announcement finalizing his appointment could come as soon as today, per La Canfora.

Robinson spent the bulk of his career with the Patriots, where he worked with Buccaneers GM Jason Licht. It was Licht who later brought Robinson to Tampa. Robinson, a Union City, Tenn., native, was mentioned as a potential candidate for the job shortly after Ruston Webster was let go. This time last year, Robinson was a candidate for the Jets’ GM vacancy, a job that ultimately went to former Texans scouting director Mike Maccagnan.

If the Titans do go ahead and hire Robinson, the ex-Bucs exec may tap Josh McDaniels as his head coach, Shalise Manza Young of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) hears. The Patriots offensive coordinator, who has been connected to multiple openings this offseason, reportedly has interest in the Titans job. McDaniels, 39, has been the the Patriots’ OC since 2012 and one has to imagine that he would be anxious to have Marcus Mariota as his quarterback. Meanwhile, McCormick (on Twitter) believes that all signs still point to Mike Mularkey being retained as head coach.

Webster joined the Titans in 2010 as VP of player personnel and was elevated to the GM job two seasons later. The team’s 18-46 record during his tenure is tied for the second worst in the NFL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lions Could Decide Jim Caldwell’s Fate Sunday

January 9th, 2016 at 11:08pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Lions head coach Jim Caldwell is on his way to Detroit, where he’ll meet with new general manager Bob Quinn on Sunday, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Whether Caldwell returns to the Lions for a third season should be determined during the meeting, and signs are pointing toward his dismissal, reports Birkett.

[RELATED: Lions Hire Bob Quinn As GM]

Though Caldwell has an impressive record in Detroit (18-14 in two seasons), it seems Quinn wants to hire his own coach. That could steer the longtime Patriots executive toward one of the Pats’ coordinators – Josh McDaniels (offense) or Matt Patricia (defense). Quinn particularly likes McDaniels, per Birkett, who notes that the 39-year-old can’t interview with the Lions until the Patriots’ season ends. McDaniels, of course, possesses previous head coaching experience, having gone 11-17 with Denver from 2009-10. As our head coaching search tracker indicates, the only present vacancy McDaniels is connected to is Tennessee’s. Patricia, meanwhile, interviewed with the Browns on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Coaching Notes: Falcons, Patriots, Titans

January 9th, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Ben Levine

Some assorted coaching notes from around the NFL…

The Falcons aren’t expected to let Keith Armstrong join the Jets as the organization’s special teams coordinator, writes Kimberly A. Martin of Newsday.com. The coach has a strong relationship with Todd Bowles, but since Armstrong has two years left on his contract, it’s unlikely Atlanta would let him leave for a lateral move.
Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will interview for the Browns head coaching gig today, tweets Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that despite the amount of interest, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels isn’t expected to interview for any head coaching jobs this week.
The Titans have requested permission to interview Jaguars assistant Doug Marrone, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team has also asked to interview Vikings assistant general manager George Paton, but that request was denied.
Giants offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is in the running for both the Eagles and Giants head coaching jobs, tweets ESPN’s Bill Williamson. The writer also passes along that Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is the favorite for his team’s head coaching gig.

Coach Rumors: 49ers, Shula, McDaniels, Gruden

January 8th, 2016 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers‘ head coaching search is starting to heat up, with meetings for Chip Kelly, Anthony Lynn, and John DeFilippo having been reported since Thursday night. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee weighs in with a couple more updates on the search, writing that the team may circle back to candidates it interviewed last year after it finishes with its first round of interviews. That group could include Mike Shanahan, Adam Gase, and Josh McDaniels, among others.

According to Barrows, the 49ers have also inquired about Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula. However, Shula’s agent has indicated that his client doesn’t plan to interview for jobs while Carolina remains alive in the playoffs. So if the Niners hope to talk to Shula, they’ll have to wait until at least January 17th, and possibly longer.

Let’s round up some more of Friday’s coaching-related items….

Despite having generated interest from multiple teams, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels won’t interview for any head coaching jobs during New England’s bye week, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk rightly observes, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie prefers a head coach who can co-exist with Howie Roseman, and won’t engage in the same sort of power struggle Chip Kelly did. So even if Jon Gruden has interest in the Eagles’ head coaching job, he may not be the type of candidate the team is seeking. I discussed the Gruden rumors earlier today.
At least two teams have conveyed interest in speaking with former Niners head coach Jim Tomsula, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Tomsula figures to draw interest as a defensive line coach or defensive assistant.

Josh McDaniels Interested In Titans’ Head Coaching Job

January 6th, 2016 at 6:46pm CST by Zachary Links

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is interested in the Titans’ head coaching position, sources tell ESPN’s John Clayton. McDaniels, 39, has been the the Patriots’ offensive coordinator since 2012 and has been linked to multiple head coaching vacancies this offseason. However, this is the first mention of him having an active interest in the Titans’ vacancy.

So far, interim head coach Mike Mularkey is the only candidate who has been confirmed to have an interview set up with the team. Former Lions head coach Jim Schwartz has been mentioned as a candidate and the same goes for ex-Falcons head coach Mike Smith, who has recently authored a book about the lessons he learned from his time on the sidelines in Atlanta. Chip Kelly, who was ousted by the Eagles earlier this month, reportedly has interest in the job as well.

The Titans fired head coach Ken Whisenhunt in November, after the team started the season 1-6 with No. 2 overall pick Marcus Mariota under center. GM Ruston Webster is also out of the picture now, giving the Titans a blank slate for both positions. The Titans are thought to be a very attractive job for available coaches as they have one of the game’s brightest young quarterbacks as well as the No. 1 pick in the 2016 Draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.