A few days ago MMQB insider Albert Breer stirred the pot a little bit when he mentioned New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as a serious candidate for the Chicago Bears head coaching job. Both for his long success as an offensive coordinator and his strong belief in quarterback Justin Fields. Couple this with the impressive interview he put together in 2018 when the team spoke to him? It’s an interesting bit of information.
However, the rabbit hole might go deeper than people think. One thing to remember about this is the coaches themselves aren’t getting the word out to teams. They aren’t working the rumor mill to pump up their names. That is the job of their agents. McDaniels’ success speaks for itself, but he has one other factor in his favor. That being Trace Armstrong, his representation. The same guy who was a defensive end for the Bears back in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Also, the guy who happens to represent Matt Nagy and Tom Herman as an agent too.
Realizing something like this, it is hard not to take something as more than a pure coincidence. Bears ownership has clearly had dealings with Armstrong going back years. Both as a player and now an agent. It isn’t hard to imagine a level of trust is built there and that the man might be steering them towards another of his clients in McDaniels. One he knows they liked four years ago and has the track record to do what Nagy couldn’t.
Make Justin Fields and the Bears offense a success. McDaniels has run an NFL offense since all the way back in 2006. In that time, only two of them failed to finish in the top 20. He helped Tom Brady to become the greatest of all time. He somehow got 3800 yards passing out of Kyle Orton. Now he has Mac Jones poised as the current favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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Is Josh McDaniels worth the risk?
A lot of arguments are going against him. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t even be a discussion. However, plenty of factors are working against him. For one, his ugly stint in Denver that didn’t even last two full seasons. A run characterized by an ego running rampant, poor personnel decisions, and too many controversies. Then he made matters worse for himself when he backed out of the Indianapolis Colts job in 2018 at the last second. Things like that raise red flags about his character.
To say nothing of the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Since 2000, no fewer than seven of his assistants went on to become head coaches in the NFL. None of them even reached a conference championship game, let alone the Super Bowl. Only one, Bill O’Brien, managed to win a playoff game. So there is a certain stigma against Belichick disciples these days. Especially one like Josh McDaniels who already flamed out once before.
Is he really worth the risk?
The primary argument in his favor is the offensive success. Few can match his mind for that side of the game. The pitch Armstrong would be making to the Bears is simple. What happened in Denver was 12 years ago. McDaniels was 33-years old at the time. He was young and thought he was bulletproof. That experience along with more years to mature makes him a far better candidate this time around.
