With new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel now a done deal, the attention will shift to who might join him on his staff in the coming days.
Mike Garafolo said during a segment on NFL Network on Sunday that the club already has two potential candidates that he believes are expected to be in the mix, with McDaniels seemingly set to return to be the club’s offensive coordinator.
“The question now is, who will the coordinators be with Mike Vrabel? Josh McDaniels, a familiar face in Foxboro, we are expecting him to be in the mix for the offensive coordinator role there in New England,” said Garafolo. “So that would be a reunion with Vrabel and McDaniels.”
Bringing back McDaniels should certainly provide a level of comfort for New England Patriots ownership. Robert Kraft watched first-hand as McDaniels helped former quarterback Mac Jones develop during his rookie season, with Jones going out and winning 10 games in 2021 under McDaniels’ leadership.
Following McDaniels’ departure to Las Vegas as the Raiders head coach that offseason, things went downhill for Jones and that started a spiral that eventually ended in a disastrous 2023 season, which led to New England moving on and selecting Drake Maye.
The idea of pairing someone like Maye, who loves football and is highly competitive, with McDaniels is definitely intriguing.
Seeing the two work together should be fun to watch, which is yet another reason to hope it comes to fruition.
Meanwhile, on the defensive side of the ball, Garafolo highlighted a name of someone who already has some familiarity working with Vrabel. Garafolo believes that New York Giants defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will be in the mix. Bowen worked under Vrabel in Tennessee, so it would make sense if Vrabel, who is also a terrific defensive coach himself, decides to bring him here.
Whether or not the Giants would give any pushback feels unlikely. Their defense was under heavy scrutiny by the end of the season. As a result, one would have to believe New York might be willing to let him move on.
However, Garafolo believes that Bowen will be in play with Vrabel now that this key domino has fallen for the Patriots.
“Also, Shane Bowen, currently the defensive coordinator with the Giants, I had mentioned the other day, I didn’t expect the Giants to make a change at defensive coordinator, but Bowen was with Vrabel in Tennessee,” said Garafolo. “So if they want to pry him away, perhaps the Giants will allow Bowen to walk and head up to Foxboro.”
“We’ll see about all that. Those dominoes are going to fall into place. But for now, the biggest one has fallen.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
