Josh McDaniels coaching history: How record, offensive performance with Raiders compares to time with Broncos, Patriots | Sporting News (2024)

Josh McDaniels came to the Raiders hoping to improve upon his failed stint as the Broncos head coach from 2009-10. Instead, fans saw much of the same from him during his two years in Las Vegas.

McDaniels endured plenty of issues during his 25 games in charge of the Raiders. His offense never quite became the high-end unit that Mark Davis envisioned after hiring him, while McDaniels struggled to manage a locker room that had once rallied around Rich Bisaccia.

The end result? McDaniels became the first NFL coach fired in 2023 after Las Vegas' 26-14 Week 8 loss to the Lions.

McDaniels, 47, will now look for more work around the NFL, but it's worth wondering exactly what he will find available to him. He hasn't exactly found much success outside of New England during his career, so many may wonder whether he is a product of Bill Belichick's coaching system — or whether his coordinator success was buoyed by Tom Brady.

As McDaniels moves forward, he'll also have to look back at his previous shortcomings to figure out exactly what went wrong after his first head coaching stint in 12 years.

MORE:Ranking the 6 best coaching candidates to replace Josh McDaniels with Raiders

And when looking back, it's easy to see the mistakes McDaniels repeated during his ill-fated year-and-a-half with the Raiders.

Josh McDaniels' Broncos record, history

The Broncos made a bold move when they hired McDaniels away from the Patriots in January 2009. He had enjoyed plenty of success as New England's offensive coordinator, but at just 32 years old, he was then the youngest head coaching hire in modern NFL history.

McDaniels' youthful inexperience showed early in his time in Denver, especially when looking to build the team. He notably destroyed the team's relationship with quarterback Jay Cutler by trying to trade for then-Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel, and that led Cutler to seek a trade.

The Broncos were ultimately forced to trade him to the Bears in exchange for two first-round picks, a third-round pick and Kyle Orton.

Despite this inauspicious start in the offseason, McDaniels led the Broncos to six straight wins to begin the 2009 season. The team's defense looked great while its offense began to gel as well, so it looked like then-owner Pat Bowlen's gamble had paid off.

However, things quickly fell apart after that. The Broncos finished that season going 2-8 in their last 10 games, and that downhill trend continued into 2010.

McDaniels had a fraught relationship with wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who had been benched for a game late in the 2009 season, so he was sent to the Dolphins during the offseason. After that, the team's offense struggled with consistency thanks to Orton's bouts of inaccuracy and the team's lack of proven receiving weapons.

It appeared that McDaniels had torn apart what had been a Cutler-Marshall combination that had a bright future in favor of a Tim Tebow and Demaryius Thomas pairing. While Thomas eventually turned into a great pro, the short-term returns were disastrous, earning McDaniels a bad reputation for his personnel management.

Another key factor that contributed to McDaniels' firing was a videotaping scandal that hit the Broncos late in the 2010 season. Steve Scarnecchia, then a video assistant for the team, taped the 49ers during their practice at Wembley Stadium when the two teams faced off in Week 8.

The NFL and McDaniels insist that the coach didn't view the six-minute tape and that it was deleted before anyone on the staff looked at it. However, he didn't promptly report Scarnecchia's act, and that resulted in a $50,000 fine for both the Broncos and McDaniels himself.

Just after news of that scandal broke, Denver fired McDaniels. He finished his Broncos stint with an 11-17 record and no playoff appearances. And after a 6-0 start, his efficacy as a coach cratered.

Below is a look at his record by year with the Broncos, as well as the team's offensive and defensive rankings under his watch.

Indeed, McDaniels' time in Denver wasn't great, but it at least had some bright spots with the 6-0 start and the team's defensive performance. The same can't be said of his time with the Raiders.

MORE:Why the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels, explained

Josh McDaniels' Raiders record, history

McDaniels' stint with the Broncos spanned just 28 games, but somehow, he lasted even less time with the Raiders. He was with them for 25 contests before being dismissed ahead of Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season.

Like his time in Denver, McDaniels struggled to make headway in Las Vegas. This time, he wasn't in charge of personnel, but he and Dave Ziegler's moves to acquire Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback, Davante Adams at wide receiver and Chandler Jones on the edge have not panned out to date.

Garoppolo hasn't looked good in his first year with the Raiders, and he hasn't stayed healthy; the Raiders' offense is a bottom-five unit as a result after being an above-average unit the previous season.

Jones ended up being released by the team after a drama-filled saga during which the edge rusher appeared to endure a mental health episode; meanwhile, Adams is still with the Raiders, but the team wasn't able to get him the ball with any sort of consistency. That has caused him to grow increasingly frustrated as the season has progressed.

McDaniels entered a tough situation in joining the Raiders, who had rallied around interim coach Rich Bisaccia amid their 2021 run to the playoffs. Thus, it was always going to be paramount for him to earn the trust of his players, but he was unable to do so.

After Las Vegas traded Darren Waller during the 2023 NFL offseason, the tight end blasted the Raiders. He said, "they value our opinions here" in New York, indirectly throwing shade at McDaniels' staff in Las Vegas.

Adams also expressed displeasure with the team after his college teammate and good friend Derek Carr was benched and ultimately released by the squad. Adams said he and the front office"don’t see eye-to-eye on what we think is best for us right now"on the quarterback position, indicating that he would have preferred to see the team keep Carr rather than trade for Garoppolo.

After the Raiders' loss to the Lions on Monday night, Adams said that he didn't know what to say about the team's offensive struggles in the game. As for running back Josh Jacobs, he refused to elaborate on how the offense might improve after a brutal defeat.

"I don't know it ain't my job," perNFL Network's Bridget Condon.

Between that and Vegas' complete inability to build positive momentum on the field, it was clear that McDaniels wasn't the right fit. That's why he was relieved of his duties after just 25 games.

Below is a look at his record by year with the Raiders, as well as the team's offensive and defensive rankings under his watch.

So, while the offense was above barrage his first season, that was more thanks to Jacobs' elite season as the NFL's leading rusher. The passing game has never taken a step forward while the defense has been mediocre at best.

Thus, it's easy to see why the Raiders were ready to move on from him.

MORE: How Josh McDaniels' firing impacts future contract, salaries, guarantees

Josh McDaniels coaching record

Overall, McDaniels has a head coaching record of 20-33 during his four seasons with the Broncos and Raiders. That is good for a winning percentage of just.377, which ranks 170th all-time among 198 NFL head coaches who qualify for the stat.

McDaniels never had a winning season in any of his four as a head coach. The closest he came to winning was in his rookie season when the team had a record of 8-8. Even then, the team started 6-0 before finishing 2-8 to close the season; as such, McDaniels is 14-33 in his last 47 games as an NFL head coach.

But how does his coaching record with the Raiders compare to his record with the Broncos? Both are bad, but his time in Las Vegas was slightly worse.

MORE: Who is Antonio Pierce? Meet the Raiders interim coach replacing Josh McDaniels

Josh McDaniels' historywithout Bill Belichick, Patriots

McDaniels' record as a coach brings into question exactly how effective he has been during his career when not paired with Bill Belichick. The answer? Not very.

McDaniels routinely had the Patriots ranked as one of the top-10 offenses in the NFL during his time as a coordinator, but he hasn't found as much success elsewhere. Case in point? He has only one offense that ranked above average in both total yards and points scored; that came with the 2022 Raiders.

And in terms of offensive DVOA, McDaniels' non-Patriots teams have never ranked better than 17th, per Sheil Kapadia of The Ringer. Below is how those offenses stack up against one another.

So, it would seem that McDaniels is another rotten apple of Belichick's surprisingly inept coaching tree.

MORE:Why Josh McDaniels is worst of Bill Belichick's many NFL coaching tree failures

Still, it will be worth wondering whether he lands next. Will another team take a chance on him as an offensive coordinator, or will he attempt to rejoin Belichick for a third stint in New England? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain.

He isn't going to be an NFL head coach any time soon — or perhaps ever again.