Josh McDaniels Makes Patriots History With Long Overdue Coaching Award
It was a good awards season for the New England Patriots’ coaching staff.
On Thursday, Mike Vrabel won the 2025 AP NFL Coach of the Year Award, while Josh McDaniels won the 2025 AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year Award. Both returned to the Patriots last offseason after previously working there as a player and offensive coordinator, respectively.
McDaniels became the first assistant coach in franchise history to win the award, which was first presented in 2014. Shockingly, he did not win it during his last stint as New England’s OC, which stretched from 2012 to 2021 and yielded three Super Bowl titles. He also held the position from 2006 to 2008.
After flaming out as the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, McDaniels rejoined the Patriots last offseason to work alongside Vrabel and assist with Drake Maye’s development.
Tapping into his previous experience with Tom Brady, Matt Cassel and Mac Jones, McDaniels worked his magic with Maye, helping him emerge as an NFL MVP candidate in just his second season.
Despite not having a ton of elite weapons around Maye, McDaniels still transformed New England’s offense into one of the league’s best. After ranking 30th in scoring and 31st in yardage last year, the Patriots improved to second in scoring and third in yardage this year.
McDaniels deserves much of the credit for that, as New England’s offense sputtered over the previous three seasons without him. He has a knack for getting the most out of young quarterbacks and tailoring offenses around their strengths and weaknesses, and he did it again with Maye.
Already a three-time Super Bowl champ, McDaniels will be tested again in this weekend’s Super Bowl. He has a tough assignment against the Seattle Seahawks’ elite defense, which allowed the fewest points in the NFL this year.
The Patriots’ offense has struggled this postseason due to bad weather and Maye’s turnover issues, but they’ll get one final shot at redemption on Sunday with a championship on the line.