After spending 20 seasons in the New England Patriots organization and 14 as the team’s offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels took the head coaching position with the Las Vegas Raiders in January.
McDaniels enters an AFC West division that is crowded, as the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers figure to be in the thick of playoff contention. Las Vegas is coming off a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card Game. Led by quarterback Derek Carr, McDaniels will be tasked with spearheading a Raiders team that looks to find continued success in a tight division.
As he prepares to lead Las Vegas, he reflected upon his time in New England. As transcribed by Chris Mason of MassLive, McDaniels explained he had to seize the opportunity during a meeting with the media in Indianapolis at the NFL combine on Wednesday.
“This was just an opportunity I felt I couldn’t pass up. I’ve waited a long time to try to have an opportunity to do this,” he said.
“What they’ve done for me, the opportunities they’ve given me, what they’ve rewarded me with personally and professionally, there was no need to do anything like that. This was really a decision about what was best for me at this time and the challenge I could take on in Vegas.”
The Patriots meet the Raiders in the 2022 regular season. McDaniels beat the Patriots in his the last head coaching venture. The Denver Broncos were able to sneak by New England 20-17 in overtime during Week Five of the 2009 season.
