The entire NFL is salivating over hiring Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia because they want to be good like the Patriots
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| AP photo |
When the pink slips start getting handed out around the league that always means the Patriots coordinators are going to be have their notifications blowing up like they are the hottest girl on Tinder. Luckily for us, over the last 4 years Josh and Fat Matt have been able to resist the "you ups?" and the eggplant emojis to keep some continuity in New England.
This year might be different. Josh left for his first head coaching stint in 2009, where he took the reigns of the Broncos and traded up for Tim Tebow. Yikes. That was after serving as our OC for 3 years, from 2006-2008. After the Broncos venture went up in smoke and a quick pit stop with the Rams, Josh came back to the promised land in 2012, where he has been our OC for the last 6 years. We have rewarded him with 2 (maybe 3) bowls for his services.
Fat Matt has been DC since 2012 as well, meaning his 6 years on the job without leaving are double what Josh did before taking his first plunge.
The teams interested are:
McDaniels: Giants, Colts, Bears (I heard Raiders too, but Gruden got that job which is going to be amazing)
Patricia: Giants, Cardinals, Lions
Last season Josh interviewed with the Niners, Rams, and Jags but didn't want to leave New England. Neither did Fat Matt, who interviewed with the Rams and Chargers. The Rams are a very intriguing team, maybe our boys are kicking themselves over that one. And the Niners would have been a homerun for Josh had he known they would get Jimmy G. But I'm sure another Lombardi trophy this season is a nice compensation prize for staying.
Both coaches were asked about their futures and they had perfect Patriots answers.
“Yeah, I mean, I have no idea about any of that,” Patricia said on Monday. “Came in, graded the Jets and tried to take a good look at what we did on defense [on Sunday] and tried to see what things were positive and what things we’ve got to get better on.”
“That process, whatever it is, it will take place. I’m certainly not aware of anything at this point,” McDaniels added. “I’ve just been focused on trying to grade our tape."
Lololololol
Me? A head coaching gig? Never heard of it. I'm just here to grade game tape thank you very much. Bill has these fools wired in like Zuckerberg's drones in The Social Network and I love it.
I honestly felt like neither would leave last year. This year, however, I'm not so sure. Josh is 41, Fat Matt is 43. Both are at an age where they could/should go. I've always felt like Josh has no reason to retire until Tom does. Even if it's as many as 4/5 more years. Because there is no way Josh's stock goes down. All that happens is Josh gets to put 4/5 more season of OC-ing the best offense in the league on his resume. That can only help your cause. Fat Matt is interesting because our D is so weird. When it comes to yards, we give it up like virgins on prom night. But somehow we don't give up any points. I'm not questioning Matt's resume as it stands, I'm just wondering if it serves him to stay a bit longer or strike now. I don't have an answer for that.
So lets look at the teams. I'm not going anywhere near the Giants. I know they were crushed with injuries and ODB is an elite talent, but Eli is a nightmare and they've got no plan for how to dig themselves out of that hole. The Lions make zero sense to me because they should be good yet they always suck. The Cardinals are interesting. No DJ clearly ruined their season, and you get him back. But Palmer just retired and maybe I'm being too picky but QB uncertainty is not something I'm trying to sign up for. The Bears are garbage. Tits Trubisky stinks and so do their skill players. The Colts have been a dumpster fire for the last two years, but they are EASILY my top choice. Call me crazy but I still think they could be a threat over night. It all hinges on how you feel about Luck. I'm done with any "he's the next great qb in this league" talk but I do think he is a top 10 guy if he's healthy.
By that logic, I don't know if I take the plunge if I'm Matt. The Cardinals would be my choice, but I don't want defensive minded Matt responsible for giving them a qb. He's at the top of the Lions list, and maybe Matt sees more potential there than I do, but my vote is stay home big guy.
If I'm Josh, as much as it pains me to say, I take the Colts job. It sucks that they are in our conference, and something of a rival, but it almost seems perfect. You'd go somewhere that already has a franchise quarterback, and the current back up (possibly franchise guy if they move Luck) is a guy you drafted and worked with and like in Jacoby Brissett. TY Hilton is still a big time wide out. They could upgrade in plenty of areas. They aren't a perfect team. But no one firing there head coach ever is.
Ideally, they both hang on. Ride out Tom's career. Then everyone bails. If I had to lose one I'd lose Josh. Not that I think he is a bad OC. He's great. But Tom's talent can cover up everything. His decision making controls the offense anyway. If I was a betting man I'd say we lose Josh only. My fear that we lose both resides only in this prophecy made by me. When we lost to the Broncos in the AFCCG in 2015 I told my friends it was all good because history was just repeating itself. In the early 2000s we went Bowl, X, Bowl, Bowl. The pattern would come back. Bowl in 2014, Bowl in 2016, Bowl this year. I knew it then. I still know it now. But after the 2004 Bowl we lost both our coordinators. So if I really was right, don't be shocked if they both go.
