The return of Josh McDaniels (left) as Patriots offensive coordinator has helped turn quarterback Drake Maye into a dynamic force on the field.
The return of Josh McDaniels (left) as Patriots offensive coordinator has helped turn quarterback Drake Maye into a dynamic force on the field.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
The 2025 season has been an unexpected treat in New England.
The Patriots are 9-2, already more than double the wins from last year’s four. Second-year quarterback Drake Maye is the favorite to win MVP. Mike Vrabel, fired by the Titans two years ago, is the favorite to win Coach of the Year. Owner Robert Kraft has had the Midas touch, with every move this offseason turning to gold.
But the season has to be especially gratifying for two people who took more than their share of grief the last few years: Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Eliot Wolf, the executive vice president of player personnel.
Neither has been too popular with fans and media. Why did Jerod Mayo lose his job but Eliot Wolf kept his? a certain Globe writer questioned in January after the Patriots floundered to their second straight 4-13 season. And McDaniels’s hiring in January to run the Patriots offense again came with plenty of criticism. McDaniels is a retread, a product of Tom Brady, and doesn’t connect with players, and his offense is outdated.
Yet both have been integral pieces to the Patriots record and deserve their due. Wolf is batting close to 1.000 this year with the team’s offseason moves, a total reversal from 2024 when almost nothing went right. And McDaniels’s return to Foxborough has been a slam dunk, home run, an 80-yard touchdown, and any other sports cliché available.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Josh McDaniels,” Kraft said Thursday night on the 98.5 pregame show. “I think he understands Drake and how he operates and adapting him into the culture of whomever we’re playing the next week, looking at their weaknesses where we hopefully can exploit it. They’ve developed a great chemistry.”
McDaniels got crushed in 2023 when the Raiders fired him less than two full seasons into a five-year deal as coach. Raiders fans celebrated the news, pundits wrote him off, and his players smoked cigars in the locker room in their first game without him.
Josh McDaniels was let go as head coach of the Raiders in his second season of a five-year deal back in September 2023. The Raiders' loss is now the Patriots' gain.
Josh McDaniels was let go as head coach of the Raiders in his second season of a five-year deal back in September 2023. The Raiders' loss is now the Patriots' gain.David Becker/Associated Press
It’s true McDaniels might be better suited as a coordinator than head coach, but he is still quieting the other doubters this season. The Patriots have improved from 30th in points last year to seventh this year, while Maye has become one of the most explosive down-field passers in the NFL.
Every aspect of the Patriots offense has improved dramatically compared to the last few years — from the performance of the offensive line, to the receivers’ ability to get open, to the quarterback’s ability to find the right receiver. Maye deserves the most credit for the team’s success, but McDaniels is No. 2 for putting the pieces in position to succeed.
It should make even the most ardent McDaniels haters re-evalute their perspective on him as a coach, and particularly his time with the Raiders in 2022-23. McDaniels will be the first to admit that he did not handle his Broncos stint well 15 years ago and was not emotionally ready for the job. But he gets a bad rap for his Raiders tenure, in which he went 11-17.
McDaniels’s success this year proves more than ever that the problem in Las Vegas was owner Mark Davis. He misread the room by hiring McDaniels in the first place, then abruptly pulled the plug in the middle of Year 2 before McDaniels had a chance to fully implement his offense.
Postscript: The Raiders are 11-24 since firing McDaniels, and might fire their coach for the fourth straight season. Meanwhile, McDaniels is still collecting salary from the Raiders, he’s back home with his family in suburban Boston, and he’s dialing up plays for a young franchise quarterback on the hottest team in the NFL. Not a bad trade-off.
Wolf, the de facto GM the last two seasons, also deserves props for his role in this remarkable turnaround.
The Patriots spent the most money in free agency last spring (over $180 million guaranteed on over 20 players) and drafted 11 players, and it’s hard to find a bad move in the bunch.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf (far right) was all smiles back on March 3 when he, new coach Mike Vrabel (far left), and owner Robert Kraft (center) welcomed their quartet of free-agent signings — (from left) offensive lineman Morgan Moses, cornerback Carlton Davis, defensive tackle Milton Williams, and linebacker Robert Spillane. All four have made big contributions this season.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf (far right) was all smiles back on March 3 when he, new coach Mike Vrabel (far left), and owner Robert Kraft (center) welcomed their quartet of free-agent signings — (from left) offensive lineman Morgan Moses, cornerback Carlton Davis, defensive tackle Milton Williams, and linebacker Robert Spillane. All four have made big contributions this season.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
Five free agents are crushing it this season: wideouts Stefon Diggs and Mack Hollins, defensive tackles Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga, and linebacker Robert Spillane. Several others are doing well and contributing to the cause, like center Garrett Bradbury, right tackle Morgan Moses, defensive ends K’Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry, linebacker Jack Gibbens, and cornerback Carlton Davis. No one is an outright bust.
For the first time in seemingly forever, rookies are thriving. Will Campbell and Jared Wilson are starting on the offensive line. Running back TreVeyon Henderson has 657 total yards and six touchdowns. Fourth-round pick Craig Woodson at safety has played the most snaps of any defender. Wideout Kyle Williams caught a 72-yard touchdown, and kicker Andy Borregales has been solid.
And don’t forget that Wolf last year steadfastly refused trade offers of multiple first-round picks from the Giants and Vikings to stick with the plan and draft Maye, a decision that already has had a profound impact on the Patriots.
Yes, Vrabel obviously has a lot of say in the front office, as do the lieutenants Vrabel brought with him, VP of player personnel Ryan Cowden and John Streicher, VP of football operations and strategy. Wolf isn’t doing it by himself and surely doesn’t want it viewed that way.
“Certainly, the best decisions are made together,” Wolf said this spring. “There’s not going to be Mike’s guys or Eliot’s guys. There are going to be Patriot guys, and we’re excited to share the vision to work together to improve the roster.”
And it would be naïve not to credit Vrabel’s coaching staff for implementing all these new players into the lineup. It summons an interesting chicken-and-egg debate on draft busts — do they fail because they weren’t scouted properly, or because they didn’t have the right coaches to develop them?
But it’s still Wolf’s name atop the masthead on the front office. He still has final say over the roster, per his contract. He’s still the one leading the personnel meetings and setting the course for the scouting department. Wolf is the one whose job is on the line if the Patriots struggle.
The head coach and quarterback get outsized credit for a team’s success or failure, and the GM should, too.
Wolf took it on the chin last February at the NFL Combine, saying, “Last season, ultimately the roster was on me.”
This year, Wolf can say the same — the Patriots are 9-2, and the roster is on him.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.