Josh McDaniels failed as an NFL head coach his first time around. He’s since re-built himself as a solid offensive coordinator whose a head coach in waiting for a second chance.
With the New England Patriots continuing to win every single season and virtually be Super Bowl contenders every year, Josh McDaniels continues to get the credibility back that he lost almost seven years ago.
He was once a young, promising head coach when he took over the Denver Broncos head coaching job as a 33-year old. He got them to an 8-8 record in his first season.
In the second, his tenure couldn’t have been more disastrous, as he was fired before Week 12 when Denver was 3-9. Josh McDaniels tried to be too much like his mentor in Bill Belichick instead of being his own brand of head coach and it rubbed everyone the wrong way.
It only worked when Denver was winning. But he was also the reason why the Broncos ran Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall among other top players out of town. Bottom line: Josh McDaniels destroyed the culture in Denver to the point where it took John Elway and John Fox rebuilding it once he left.
After Denver, McDaniels has had two stops; one with the St. Louis Rams as offensive coordinator that lasted one season; he was dismissed with the entire staff under Steve Spagnuolo, and a second stint with the Patriots after Bill O’Brien departed to coach Penn State University.
His second stint has gone very well, like his first one, as he’s added two more Super Bowl titles to his resume and added even more credibility as an NFL coach. Josh McDaniels interviewed for three different jobs last year; the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams head coaching jobs. But Josh McDaniels decided to opt to stay put in New England.
With the Giants job potentially opening up again this off-season with the potential firing of Ben McAdoo, many have advocated for the Giants to strongly pursue the 41-year-old former head coach to succeed McAdoo.
Hiring Josh McDaniels would be a tremendous mistake for the Giants.
Yes, we all know Bill Belichick got a second chance after his failed first attempt as a head coach with the Cleveland Browns and has solidified himself as perhaps the greatest coach in NFL history with his now 17-year tenure with the Patriots.
There’s a big difference between the two. Belichick wasn’t retained after it was decided that the Browns were moving from Cleveland to become the Baltimore Ravens after the 1995 season.
Yes, Belichick went 36-44 and had more losing seasons than he did winning. However, Belichick did get Cleveland to the playoffs and even won a playoff game. In fact; Belichick has the last win on record for the Browns in the playoffs, which is back in 1994. But with the team on the move to a new city, the Browns turned Ravens decided to go with a new regime for the team, and thus, Belichick didn’t go with the move.
McDaniels was forced out because he created a toxic environment in Denver; a setting so toxic, that he wasn’t even allowed to finish his second season as a head coach. With the current turmoil and chaos that the Giants are in, bringing in a coach who failed because he alienated his entire roster wouldn’t be the best choice.
If you think about the coaches the Giants have brought in following a firing; Dan Reeves was the established name brought in to restore the mess Ray Handley left. Jim Fassel was given a chance to become the head coach after Reeves was let go, although ownership was very close to bringing back Bill Parcells for a second tenure in 1997. When Fassel was fired in 2003, it was Tom Coughlin who got hired to restore things.
The Giants got it wrong when they hired Ben McAdoo in January of 2016 and there’s a very good possibility that he will be sent packing once Black Monday hits after Week 17. Josh McDaniels is the last thing that the Giants need for their franchise.
There’s a very good chance that Josh McDaniels may end up being the successor for Belichick once he decides to step away from coaching in New England; a job that might end up being the perfect scenario for him. Some think that may end up being his plan considering he’s stayed put for the last few years even though he’s interviewed for several head coaching jobs.
Speaking of Belichick; think about his coaching tree. His assistants haven’t exactly been great head coaches, especially in the NFL. Romeo Crennel, Al Groh, Eric Mangini and Jim Schwartz, plus McDaniels, have all failed as head coaches. Charlie Weis failed as a college head coach; something Saban has not with LSU and Alabama. But Saban wasn’t impressive with the Miami Dolphins.
The one other; Bill O’Brien, has had mild success in the NFL with the Houston Texans, but hasn’t been able to get to the next level in Houston since his arrival.
For all of the success that Belichick himself has had, his assistants haven’t been as good. Crennel and Mangini each got second chances to be NFL head coaches and both ended in disaster and each being fired. There’s no reason to think Josh McDaniels will have any kind of success in a second go-around as an NFL head coach while being away from the Patriots.
Order and stability definitely needs to be restored in East Rutherford and for the Giants and the team will need to get an established coach in order to bring that back and fix the mess McAdoo has made.
While Josh McDaniels might one day be an NFL head coach again, his second chance shouldn’t be with the Giants.