3 Head Coach Candidates the Patriots Must Avoid in 2024

1. Josh McDaniels

Would a third head coaching opportunity be the charm for Josh McDaniels? The Patriots shouldn't be the franchise to find out. Truthfully, it's not far-fetched to argue that McDaniels should never have another NFL head coaching gig again.

McDaniels' first head coaching stint with the Denver Broncos from 2009-2010 was catastrophic. He managed to almost immediately alienate franchise quarterback Jay Cutler, leading Cutler to comment that he couldn't trust his head coach and forcing his way out of town. McDaniels followed that up by benching Pro Bowl wideout Brandon Marshall, who would also be unceremoniously shipped out at the season's end. After starting the 2010 season 3-9, McDaniels was fired, but not before he brought his own taste of the Patriot way to Denver with the team's own videotaping scandal.

In the wake of New England's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, McDaniels was announced as the next coach of the Indianapolis Colts before leaving them at the altar with an introductory press conference already planned. His last-second decision to stay in Foxborough rubbed many in pro football circles the wrong way.

When McDaniels was hired to lead the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022, the assumption was that he would improve upon the Denver disaster with his lessons learned and time to reflect. Somehow, his tenure in Sin City turned out to last even shorter than his time with the Broncos. McDaniels was fired this year amidst a near mutiny from his players, and his team treated the aftermath of his firing as a borderline liberation. That should give you all of the insight that you need about how the Raiders' locker room felt about him.

Coming off of an embarrassing season, the Patriots are going to need a coach that commands the locker room and fosters buy-in from the roster. McDaniels could not be farther from the man for that job.

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