Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is well known by NFL fans because he has been a head coach twice and was a key assistant with the New England Patriots for several years.
But you might be watching a Raiders game and wondering if McDaniels ever played in the NFL. Let’s look at McDaniels’ football journey, which started with playing for his father in high school in Canton, Ohio.
Did Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Josh McDaniels Ever Play in the NFL?
The Raiders head coach never played in the NFL, but McDaniels did play four seasons at John Carroll University as a quarterback and wide receiver. McDaniels played as a quarterback in high school in Ohio but transitioned quickly to wide receiver in college.
Nick Caserio, the current general manager of the Houston Texans, replaced him as John Carroll’s quarterback. McDaniels was a college teammate of current Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler.
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During his college career, McDaniels had 41 receptions for 732 yards. Former John Carroll coach Greg Debeljak saw McDaniels’ future career when the two watched the game film together. Debeljak said, “Josh saw the big picture more than anybody else we ever had. Anybody that was around him knew that he was going to be a great coach.”
When Did McDaniels Start His Coaching Career?
McDaniels started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan State for Nick Saban. After a year off, McDaniels was hired in 2001 as a personal assistant to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Saban was Belichick’s defensive coordinator in Cleveland from 1991 to 1994 before going to Michigan State.
How Long Was McDaniels With the Patriots?
McDaniels, who is in his 23rd year as an NFL coach, was an assistant for 18 seasons with New England. He had two different tenures with the team and was an assistant on all six of the Patriots’ Super Bowl championships.
In his first stay in New England, from 2001 to 2008, he worked his way from Belichick’s personal assistant to offensive coordinator.
How Long Has McDaniels Been a Head Coach?
McDaniels moved on to be the Denver Broncos head coach for the 2009 season. He started 6-0, including a win over the Patriots, in his first season. However, Denver lost eight of the final 10 games to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs.
McDaniels was fined the next season for hiring a videographer who violated league rules by taping his opponent’s practice. The Broncos started the season 3-9, and McDaniels was fired by the team.
After one season as the St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator, McDaniels returned to the Patriots to be offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the 2012 season. In 2018, he briefly accepted the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job before deciding not to make the move. McDaniels stayed in New England before taking the Raiders job in 2022.