Josh McD, the coach's son

http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports...coaching-is-in-the-family-for-josh-mcdaniels/ really does make Josh McD sound like a Belichick mini-me. His father was a renowned coach, just not at the pro level, and he was looking at film with his dad from age 6 or so.

During his first few years in New England Josh didn’€™t ask Belichick if his dad could come out to watch a practice, but after he became comfortable, he did and Belichick agreed with no questions asked.

Thom recalled the first practice and his first meeting with Belichick where the coach told him he was welcome whenever he wanted.

“€œJosh told [Bill] later that he may have created a monster. When he said he’s welcome anytime he’s going to want to do that and Bill said, ‘No, I meant it. Anytime, anywhere he’s welcome,”€ Thom said. “I think [Bill] sees between Josh and I what he had with his dad and he’s going to respect and honor that. I appreciate that so much.”

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“I remember taking him (to Michigan State) and telling him, ‘OK, you’re going to coach at Michigan State and you’re going to coach for Nick Saban. This is where your old man’s influence ends. There is nothing I can say and nothing I can do to help you after this point. Dad’s influence ends here,'” he added. “I think he knew that and I think he understood that. He worked real hard to do things whatever it was.”

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I grew up in the Ohio area, and lived within minutes of where Thom (dad) and Ben (brother) coached at Warren G. Harding high school.

As a matter of fact, these two coached Mario Manningham on the team in the early 2000's.

And if anyone is familiar with the Youngstown, OH area, Bill Belichick and his family lived there for awhile when his dad Stephen worked for Youngstown Sheet and Tube. There are still a couple/few family members who live there, although they pronounce the name a bit differently, with a different emphasis---Bellitch-check. I believe they are cousins.

When another one of the local HS teams in Struthers, OH needed new equipment several years ago, Bill was one of the first people they called. He made a very generous donation of 50k, with the understanding that there'd be nothing more than a small and humble blurb in the local newspaper. He didn't want a big fuss made, although you can still find it online if you look. You'll see 2-3 sentences about the donation in the hometown paper (Vindicator).

Anyway, yes--both Bill and Josh have ties to the Youngstown area, and both grew up in football coaching households. Thanks for sharing the article. Good stuff.

Finally, something new (for me anyway). Good article!

More I read these McDaniels pieces the more I appreciate and respect him which I did to begin with.
Curious if he is planning to set himself up for a head coaching job next season If he does he will be missed personally I'd like to see us give him a big pay pay raise ala Caserio and a new title on the team to keep him there til Bill is ready to sail into the sunset.

ChrisR2223 said:

More I read these McDaniels pieces the more I appreciate and respect him which I did to begin with.
Curious if he is planning to set himself up for a head coaching job next season If he does he will be missed personally I'd like to see us give him a big pay pay raise ala Caserio and a new title on the team to keep him there til Bill is ready to sail into the sunset.

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Josh is 39. He has a young family. I'm sure from 2008 to 2011 was not easy on him and his family.

He is working with the GoATs at QB and one of the GoATs at HC. Say what you want about Krafty Bob but his ownership is solid, stable and there are plenty of resources at their disposal to get the job done.

He has stability and success here. In the coaching profession that is more the exception rather than the rule.

My original thinking was that BB would step down once TB does (think Phil Jackson/MJ) and JMD as coach-in-waiting would take over. Now I'm not so sure when that will happen. It could very well happen that JMD gets an offer that he absolutely cannot refuse.

ChrisR2223 said:

More I read these McDaniels pieces the more I appreciate and respect him which I did to begin with.
Curious if he is planning to set himself up for a head coaching job next season If he does he will be missed personally I'd like to see us give him a big pay pay raise ala Caserio and a new title on the team to keep him there til Bill is ready to sail into the sunset.

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I think McDaniels knows at this point he should be the next HC of this team. It's lucky for us and crappy for Josh that BB probably has 6-10 years left. I'm not sure what other teams Josh would want to HC at after his stint in Denver. Josh is coveted enough that he can either wait for the Patriots or wait for the next perfect Front office/QB combination to show up.

Probably the best story I've read this fall. Thank you for posting it.

McDaniels' future is going to be a big story at the end of the season, but for some reason I think he's staying for a while. IIRC his wife is from NE., and his experience with the Denver job was NOT a good one. His kids are young and their stability should be important to him at this age. So he has a great job, a great work environment, and is probably one of the top 3 paid assistant coaches in the league.

The other thing that occurred to me after reading this story was the Cassario angle. These guys have been great friends for 20 years now. Both are now reaching the top of their prospective fields in the NFL....and they are reaching it together. Casserio has a very clear career path, and if McDaniels is patient 2-5 years he can have it all....with his best buddy running the franchise with him. It's not like he'd be living in "oppression" while he waited. He can keep his kids in stable place and likely take over for Bill and stay here another 20 years.

Josh found out that 9o% of the time coaches don't get to retire or leave by their own volition. If he goes ANYWHERE else, that risk becomes a lot higher. If he stays until Bill retires he stands a better chance here than anywhere else. A dream job, a dream partner, a dream ownership, and dream location (if you like Nantucket or Martha's Vinyard)

VrabelJr said:

I think McDaniels knows at this point he should be the next HC of this team. It's lucky for us and crappy for Josh that BB probably has 6-10 years left. I'm not sure what other teams Josh would want to HC at after his stint in Denver. Josh is coveted enough that he can either wait for the Patriots or wait for the next perfect Front office/QB combination to show up.

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Just a random thought: perhaps if BB gets tired of being head coach but not tired of coaching, maybe McDaniels becomes the head coach and BB becomes DC for a couple of years before retiring (I'm assuming Patricia takes a job elsewhere in this scenario).

Good point that for the sake of his family, Josh McD might forgo career advancement for a few years. Arguably, that was the choice made by all of Steve Belichick, Dante S, and Thom McDaniel.

Good point also that with Josh McD and Nick C being friends from way back, they might someday enjoy running a football operation together the way other coach/GM pairings might not.

ctpatsfan77 said:

Just a random thought: perhaps if BB gets tired of being head coach but not tired of coaching, maybe McDaniels becomes the head coach and BB becomes DC for a couple of years before retiring (I'm assuming Patricia takes a job elsewhere in this scenario).

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I doubt it.

And by the way, if one were to list coaching innovations that have been successful during BB's tenure as HC of the Patriots, the offensive list might be more impressive than the defensive one.

robertweathers said:

Josh is 39. He has a young family. I'm sure from 2008 to 2011 was not easy on him and his family.

He is working with the GoATs at QB and one of the GoATs at HC. Say what you want about Krafty Bob but his ownership is solid, stable and there are plenty of resources at their disposal to get the job done.

He has stability and success here. In the coaching profession that is more the exception rather than the rule.

My original thinking was that BB would step down once TB does (think Phil Jackson/MJ) and JMD as coach-in-waiting would take over. Now I'm not so sure when that will happen. It could very well happen that JMD gets an offer that he absolutely cannot refuse.

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Yea the money from coordinator to head coach is pretty impossible to turn down. There aren't always a lot of head coaching opportunities so when one becomes available you need to jump all over it

JarOfMayo51 said:

Yea the money from coordinator to head coach is pretty impossible to turn down. There aren't always a lot of head coaching opportunities so when one becomes available you need to jump all over it

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Yea and my understanding is that coordinators are paid competitively but not top dollar here.

Heard a rumor when Weis was approached by the Bills he asked for a big-time raise from BB and got less than that. The argument was that the organization will always try to be fair with compensation but views winning and personal development as major benefits to being part of this organization. If being the highest paid coach or player is the most important thing then this place is not for you.

With that said I think BB is the highest paid coach in the NFL- however he also owns all aspects of the football ops so he has a case that he is doing multiple jobs.