Josh McDaniels is returning to his roots with the end of the New England Patriots season.
With Jedd Fisch’s departure earlier this week to take over as coach in Arizona, McDaniels will serve as a de facto coach for New England defenders in weeks 16 and 17.
This is nothing new for the offensive coordinator of the Patriots. McDaniels spent 17 seasons on Bill Belichick’s coaching staff and served as QB coach in 13 of them.
“I will do what I did most of the time I am here,” McDaniels said on Saturday in a video conference. “I’ll take that responsibility back – all quarterback meetings, cheat sheets, that sort of thing. He and I work together on many of these things. He certainly did a lot of work alone without me, but we worked together with that group and that position group, so it won’t be completely unorthodox here for those guys in the final two weeks. We will be able to handle it in the same way that most of my career has been here. “
McDaniels coached Patriots quarterbacks from 2004 to 2008 and from 2012 to 2019, while serving as a New England offensive coordinator for all but one season (2004). He has had help in recent years, with Jerry Schuplinski acting as an assistant coach for QBs from 2016 to 2018 and Mick Lombardi taking over this role in 2019.
Last January, the Patriots hired Fisch to train defenders, releasing McDaniels to devote more attention to other aspects of the attack.
The New England quarterback group currently consists of Cam Newton, Jarrett Stidham, Brian Hoyer and training squad Jake Dolegala.
“Having a guy you trust in this role to be able to function and communicate well, prepare defenders, watch the tape with them, review cutups, reminders, run the game, pass the game, protection, etc., it’s a big help, ”said McDaniels. “There is no doubt about it.
“In the first part of my career here, I really didn’t have anyone to help me with these things. And then we added Jerry Schuplinski, and then Mick Lombardi, and then Jedd was actually named the defender’s coach, and deservedly so. These guys have been a great help and a great addition to our team. I have a lot of confidence in that position with those three guys I just mentioned, and the quarterbacks would tell you the same thing. It just gives you a lot of time back – if you can use it – that you wouldn’t have otherwise. “
Schuplinski followed Brian Flores to Miami and now works with Joe Judge on the New York Giants. Lombardi is still with the Patriots – he switched to wide receivers this season after Judge left – but said he will not be returning to the QB room with Fisch now.
Fisch’s departure, however, will create more work for the New England team as a whole, as each individual assistant is usually responsible for one aspect of the game plan for a given week (third down, red zone, short yards, etc.) .).
“It’s almost like the next man’s mindset,” said Lombardi, who will continue to focus on wideouts. “… Jedd did a lot of things that were not just training the quarterback in terms of being a collective effort in game planning, so we all kind of took the time there.”
The 6-8 Patriots were eliminated mathematically from the playoff contest last week. They are scheduled to host Buffalo Bills on Monday night, before ending the season at home against the New York Jets next Sunday.
“I can sleep a little less here for the last nine days of the season, but that’s not a big deal,” said McDaniels. “I’m going to sleep when the season is over.”
Miniature photo via Winslow Townson / USA TODAY Sports Images