Josh McDaniels has taken one or two interviews almost every offseason, but the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator did not jump at every opportunity that came his way.
He seemed to be waiting. No opportunity is perfect. But McDaniels, whose time as the head coach for the Denver Broncos has grown infamous, needed to pick the right destination for what will likely be his final shot as a head coach. So he seemed to be waiting. And then he kept waiting, even after almost leaving the Patriots for the Indianapolis Colts.
Now, he’s the newly-minted Las Vegas Raiders coach. Why was this job so exceptional that he was willing to leave, unlike so many other openings?
“I’ve been patient,” McDaniels told reporters during his introductory press conference on Monday. “I’ve been selective, maybe to a fault sometimes. People wanted me to do things a little earlier than maybe I did them. But it was going to take a special place for me to really leave where I was, and I found that here in Las Vegas.”
In Vegas, McDaniels inherits a playoff-caliber team. Admittedly, the Raiders were right on the cusp, fighting for their playoff berth into Week 18 and losing in the first round to the Super Bowl-bound Cincinnati Bengals. But that playoff berth — especially amid a tumultuous season when the team fired former Raiders coach Jon Gruden for racist and homophobic remarks unearthed in an email inquiry — was impressive.
McDaniels also gets to work with quarterback Derek Carr, who may not be one of the better quarterbacks in the league — but he is certainly a starting-caliber player who has enjoyed hugely productive seasons when surrounded by the right cast. It will be McDaniels and new GM Dave Ziegler’s jobs to ensure Carr’s trajectory remains steadily upward.
“When you go through this process, I was very impressed with how exhaustive (the Raiders) were, just in their evaluation of me and my fit and how I would fit into their vision,” McDaniels told reporters. “And then you come out and you spend time with them. You meet the people. You see that everything’s done in a first-class manner. Their commitment to winning is easy to feel, to see, and to me, walking through this building and having a sense of the history and tradition of this organization and how much that impacts the day-to-day here. It really hit me.
“This is one of those iconic places. It’s a historic organization that has unbelievable history and tradition, and it’s in every hallway. So just getting to know them, feeling their commitment and understanding that that really married up with what my vision would be for another opportunity, it was easy to make the choice.”
