He was born in Canton, but he now knows there’s no place like New England.
After a failed stint as head coach of the Broncos and a season with the Rams, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is back in the place where he spent eight seasons, winning three Super Bowl rings.
“This is home for me. It feels great to be back,” McDaniels said Thursday, via the Boston Globe.
After three years away, he has noticed differences.
“The tight ends are different,” McDaniels said. “The backs are a little younger. Things have changed. There’s a few different coaches on our staff, but I think that happens at every team every year in the NFL and we just adapt. We’re so used to doing it by now that it just comes with the territory. But it’s exciting.”
(Exciting? Who would have guessed that McDaniels is the guy who drafted Tim Tebow?)
The quarterback is the same, and the head coach is the same. And the production hasn’t changed, even as the supporting pieces have.
Of course, McDaniels got a bit of a head start, working for the Patriots as a consultant after the Rams released him from his contract following the 2011 season. And McDaniels’ knowledge of Tebow may have played a role in New England’s postseason mastery of McDaniels’ former pupil, whom they’ll see at least twice this year.