New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels was in the mix to join the Las Vegas Raiders, and was so confident in his chances that he began making calls around the league to see if he could start assembling a staff, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur.
But McDaniels doesn’t appear to be the top candidate. “Something happened,” Tafur wrote.
What? Well, that’s unclear. McDaniels is no longer the front-runner for the gig. The Raiders had shown interest in both McDaniels and Patriots executive Dave Zeigler, according to multiple reports. But Vegas seems less interested in bringing aboard that tandem than was initially reported.
“McDaniels apparently had been calling coaches around the league about putting together a staff, but it appears something happened in the last 24 hours,” Tafur wrote Wednesday afternoon. “League sources don’t know if the issue was about compensation or the power structure in Las Vegas or both, but it seems Ziegler and McDaniels are not the leaders in the clubhouse anymore.”
It wouldn’t be a bad thing if McDaniels stuck around for another year. Certainly, the Patriots could use him in developing Mac Jones after a promising rookie season. So while McDaniels may grow frustrated he missed another opportunity, the Patriots must be pleased to keep him around.
