Josh McDaniels voted NFL Assistant Coach of the Year

Story byJosh McDaniels voted NFL Assistant Coach of the YearCINCINNATI, OHIO - NOVEMBER 23: Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels of the New England Patriots looks on in the fourth quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesBernd BuchmasserFri, February 6, 2026 at 1:33 AM UTC·2 min read

While he has his eyes on the Vince Lombardi Trophy, Josh McDaniels already earned some hardware leading up to Super Bowl LX.

On Thursday, the New England Patriots offensive coordinator was announced as this year’s AP NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. The 49-year-old is the first member of the Patriots organization to win the award since its inception in 2014.

McDaniels originally arrived in New England as a personnel assistant in 2001. Five years later, after serving as a defensive assistant and quarterbacks coach, he was named the Patriots’ offensive coordinator under head coach Bill Belichick. He briefly left for unsuccessful stints as Denver Broncos head coach and St. Louis Rams OC, before returning to New England during the 2011 playoffs.

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Resuming OC duties the following offseason, McDaniels and quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriot offense to its three most recent Super Bowl wins. His success with Brady and the work he did with then-rookie Mac Jones in 2021 set the stage for McDaniels to leave again in 2022 to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Three years later, he returned to Foxborough under new head coach Mike Vrabel. He has since rejuvenated the Patriots offense and helped sophomore Drake Maye develop into an MVP-caliber quarterback.

“Josh has done a fantastic job,” Vrabel said on Thursday. “Usually any coach’s success or recognition is going to come from the fact that the players executed, they played well and they did what was coached. And sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t, but I would be extremely excited and happy for Josh if he were to win, just like I would be for Stef[on Diggs], TreVeyon [Henderson], Drake and everybody else.”

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