Here’s what Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had to say during his first press conference with the New England media since returning to the team on Monday, June 2, 2025.
On how he lost weight:
“A year out of football. Fifteen months of pickleball.”
On as he built the playbook for the offense and the quarterback, if he starts from scratch and goes back to what he had, and what he’s learned about his quarterback and how that process goes:
“I think you have to have a starting point. There’s going to be a way to speak, a learning of the language. We talked about that maybe a couple of months ago. Then really, it’s just going to be about giving them some things to go out and do on the practice field, and then learning what they do well, how much they can process, what style we should play. I’ve always kind of believed that the players will dictate what that ends up being. We don’t know that today. I can tell you that right now. There’s a lot we still haven’t done for the first time. We’re just getting into third down. We haven’t got into the red zone. There’s so many other situational things that we haven’t even touched on yet. We’re still in the learning phase of our offense. Guys getting great opportunities to go out, and I feel like at this time of the year, it’s either a good play or we’re going to learn from it. So, there’s a positive result either direction, and that’s the kind of mindset that we’re taking.”
On how long that process usually takes:
“A long time. We know when the games start. Look, if it could be done by now, we would snap our fingers and have it be finished. But I would say that’s been true for every season that I’ve ever been a part of a team and an offense. It’s just whether you’re coming back with a bunch of guys that are returning and they kind of know it or you’re not. There’s always a period of relearning and recommitting yourself to the little things, the details that it takes to run a good play, let alone a good drive or a good practice or a good game. There’s so many little things that everybody needs to do. There’s a trust that’s being built right now on the field. The more we do well, the more guys can trust each other. We’re continuing to focus on those things and emphasize the kind of identity that we want to create here. “
On Stefon Diggs and how concerned he is about the time he’s missed, given that he just said it’s an important time to develop together:
“Yeah. Again, it’s a voluntary part of the year. We know that. I don’t know if we’ve ever had perfect attendance at these things in general. As a coach, selfishly, you love it when they’re all here because you feel like you got them all in the classroom and all on the field and all the rest of it. He’s here today, and we’re excited to have an opportunity to work with the guys that are out here and available to us. I know he’s staying up on the information and the material. There’s so many things and opportunities for us to teach all our guys going forward between the rest of the practices here in the spring and then going into the summer and the many days we have before we actually kick the ball off in September. So, I’m not concerned about Stef in that regard.”
On how Drake Maye is acclimating to his system so far, and what his biggest teaching point has been with him in the spring:
“He’s doing really well. He’s very smart, works really hard. I think the quarterback room in general is really, really good in terms of putting the time and effort in at this point in time in the year. Like I said, we either make a good play or we learn from the result. Sometimes as a coach, and nobody wants to hear this, but sometimes as a coach, the negative results can actually be your best teachers because you have a play where something didn’t necessarily go your way or the right way, and then you learn from it. Then the biggest key for us as we go forward is when we learn from a mistake is, can we go out there the next day and not repeat the same error? And so I think he’s doing a really good job of digesting the information, processing the corrections when there is a correction to be made, and then go out there with a great attitude and mindset the next day. I’m excited for today.”
On if Maye’s been repeating any errors so far:
“Not many. No. Generally, he does a really good job of listening to it and then when you go out there the next time and you see the same kind of look or the same problem that the defense presents to you that was presented previously, generally speaking, he’s a quick study on that. And that’s a good thing for a young player.”
On the fact he’s been in the league for 25 years and he knows the expectations for May, June, July, and how he’s going to prepare Maye for the expectations he’ll have to deal with from both the fans and media, who have ‘lofty expectations.’
“I think if I know him very well, which I’m learning more and more about him every single day, he’s going to place high expectations on himself. I know that for sure. We’re certainly going to want to try to get the best result out of our quarterback position every play that we can, and I think that’s all we can control. We can’t really control outside expectations. We’re certainly going to try to do the very best we can with our opportunities. I see a guy that has a great attitude and mindset about coming out here and trying to be the best version of himself that he can be. I know that that’s what he can control. It’s what we can control as coaches. Hopefully, we meet our expectations, which will eventually meet yours.”
On in terms of the offense overall, and their overall ability to grow and how helpful it’s been having veterans who have been in the system:
“Again, I think the mistakes are opportunities. That’s how I look at them at this time of the year. If we make them now, you hope that we learn from them, grow from them, and then eventually don’t make them when they start keeping score. I think the veteran guys that have had some experience in our system have been very helpful. They’re working hard. They give some little bits of advice here and there when it’s necessary or applicable. But everybody’s going out there trying to do the best they can with their opportunities. Everybody’s getting reps right now, which is the great part about this time of the year, and go out there and make some good plays, and if we make a mistake, we learn from it and get better.”
On when it comes to what he’s putting in with Drake, his thoughts on how he views what he’s putting on his plate in terms of the line of scrimmage, pre-snap, things like that:
“I mean, he’s known about that for a long time, and I think a lot gets overblown, honestly, if I’m being honest with you about what we do or don’t do before the ball has snapped. On every play in the National Football League, somebody’s telling somebody where to go. We just so happen to give that responsibility to QB. He’s learned it very quickly. He’s studied hard at it. Honestly, there’s always going to be little things we can correct and try to adjust as we go forward, but I feel very comfortable with him doing that right now.”
On how he feels Will Campbell has looked, especially on the left side so far:
“Look, I think all those guys are out there working their butt off. This is a different time of the year without pads, without the running game, without those kind of things. There’s some elements that are missing from the play, which at times makes it a little bit more difficult on those guys because it’s a lot of passing, a lot of passing right in a row. I don’t think I’ve called 41 passes in a row in a game. If I have, I shouldn’t have. But that’s a hard thing for those guys to deal with on a day in, day out basis. But I think Will and the entire group has really done a nice job of trying to deal with a difficult front. We’re getting a bunch of different looks. This time of the year is so great for that because you put all those reps on the film, and then we have them to teach off of as we go into training camp in July and August. So he’s really grinding away. He’s getting a lot of looks against a lot of good players, a lot of high-tempo reps.”
On the fact Thomas Brown said a month ago that this scheme is new to him too, and what it’s like having a coaching staff that comes from different backgrounds:
“I couldn’t say enough about our coaching staff, honestly. We’ve spent a lot of time together. Thomas has been incredible, and I’m learning from these guys, too. They have different perspectives on different things. We’re putting plays in today that I don’t have much experience doing, but I know that they’re good for our team, and I know these guys have a lot of experience doing those things where they’ve been, too. So, that process, usually you have some change or some turnover or something on your staff where somebody’s getting acclimated. Just so happens this year, we’re a first-year staff together, and I think we’re all just grinding away, trying to make sure that we’re ready each day. I think they’ve done a tremendous job with their position groups, and I really enjoyed the process. I love the human beings that we get to work with on a day-to-day basis on our offensive staff, and I have a lot of confidence in what we’re going to be able to try to do.”
On the new concepts and what percentage of the playbook has been different than the one he’s been in:
“You’re talking about for me in general?”
Yes, with the new offensive …
“I don’t know what percentage. I think that would be unfair for me to categorize it that way. But I would just say it’s when you take a lot of people from different backgrounds, and they have such good experience and wisdom doing things that you don’t, I think it makes a lot of sense for me to basically learn from them and what they can teach me. And that stuff is going to be used to help our team produce more points, more yards, more first downs, and hopefully good plays. So I don’t know. There’s a good chunk of it that I’m learning and adapting to. There’s certain things that I really like already, and then there’s certain things that I’m trying to turn the corner on, which is part of this process. Anytime you go out there, look, we’re not running anything … we’re running some things out here for the first time. Whether it’s a player or a coach, we might be learning together a little bit. But that’s the fun of this time of the year. You get to go out there and try some different things and hopefully grow and learn how to do them the best you can.”
“Thank you. Appreciate you.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
About Ian Logue
Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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