Former NFL player highlights Josh McDaniels' future in New England post-Mike Vrabel hire

Josh McDaniels has had two failed attempts at being a head coach in the NFL. While he hasn't found success at the position, he has always been a successful offensive coordinator. New England's decision to hire Mike Vrabel as their new head coach now has McDaniels on a list of potential coordinators headed to Foxboro.

On Monday morning's episode of the "Ross Tucker Podcast," former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker said that he feels McDaniels would be the right fit for the Patriots.

“I don't think anybody's going to hire Josh McDaniels a third time to be a head coach. So that would be the perfect OC hire for Vrabel,” Tucker said.

McDaniels knows what success in New England looks like. He won six Super Bowl titles with the team during their 2000s dynasty.

Rob Gronkowski urged Mike Vrabel to hire Josh McDaniels

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was pleased with the organization's decision to hire Mike Vrabel as their next head coach. The Super Bowl-winning TE said on Fox's NFL Sunday that Vrabel would "keep everyone on the team accountable" and bring a winning culture back to the team.

Gronkowski played under McDaniels' offensive during his tenure with the Patriots and believes he is again the right person for the job.

“If I'm Mike Vrabel, the first thing I would do is dial up the number of Josh McDaniels – a familiar face to Patriots fans – and hire him as the offensive coordinator as soon as possible," Gronkowski said.

McDaniels tenure with the Patriots began in 2001 when he was hired as a personnel assistant. He worked his way up the Patriots coaching ladder and was named offensive coordinator in 2006. In 2009, he decided to branch out and was hired as the head coach of the Denver Broncos.

After his brief run with the Broncos, he was hired by the Rams as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach before returning to the Patriots in 2012. He left New England in 2022 to try another head coaching role, this time with the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders fired him in October 2023.