The New England Patriots were a desirable coaching destination this offseason for largely one main reason.
Two words: Drake Maye.
Whether it was head coach Mike Vrabel or offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels returning to the Patriots for a third stint, they all recognized the budding potential of the 22-year-old behind center.
It’s one thing though to fall in love with what Maye put on tape last season. It’s another to see it up close in person. McDaniels will have that chance next week when the Patriots officially begin their offseason program.
For the time being, all McDaniels and Maye could do was get to know one another on a personal level. And McDaniels fell in love with that side of Maye, too.
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“I haven’t had a chance to really do football with him yet, but that’ll come. We’ll have plenty of time here coming up next week, but I’m smitten by the young man in terms of just his personality,” McDaniels told reporters from Gillette Stadium on Thursday, per team-provided transcript. “We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time that has nothing to do with football with one another, which I think has been great. Very beneficial and productive to just to get to know him, who he is, what he’s all about, what he cares about, where he’s coming from, his family, (fiancée) Ann Michael (Hudson), wedding plans, all that stuff. We’ve kind of had an opportunity to talk about those kind of things.”
McDaniels certainly knows what it takes to bring a young quarterback along. Mac Jones had his best professional season before falling off a cliff under McDaniels as a rookie in 2021. McDaniels can also lean on his experience of coaching legendary quarterback Tom Brady for a decade as well.
Maye and McDaniels seem like a good fit for one another. And they’ll take an important step together when football can begin dominating their conversations.
“I think next week and beyond will be super fun for me to really get to know him from a football perspective, start teaching our terminology and language, seeing how he learns best and how he acclimates,” McDaniels said. “But I couldn’t be more excited about the young man that we have.”
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