Josh McDaniels credited ‘mentor’ Bill Belichick ahead of Patriots-Raiders matchup
"I wouldn’t be here or even in the National Football League if it wasn’t for Bill."
Tonight, the Bruins host the Kings at 7 p.m.
Tomorrow, the Celtics will be back at TD Garden to play the Magic at 7:30 p.m.
And on Sunday, the Patriots play the Raiders in Las Vegas at 4:05 p.m.
Josh McDaniels on Bill Belichick: Aside from the playoff chase implications (at least from New England’s point of view), Sunday’s Patriots-Raiders matchup is notable due to the connection between the two head coaches.
Josh McDaniels has worked multiple tenures as Patriots’ offensive coordinator in his career, helping to orchestrate several Super Bowl runs. He also coached Mac Jones through the 2021 season as the rookie quarterback established himself.
Looking ahead to the second matchup between the two (McDaniels won the first in 2009 as coach of the Broncos), the former Patriots assistant has nothing but respect for his old boss.
“I wouldn’t be here or even in the National Football League if it wasn’t for Bill,” McDaniels said during a Wednesday press conference. “He’s been invaluable to me in a lot of ways. It’s hard to measure all of them. Obviously, football background, understanding how this league works. I got to see firsthand how to try and do it the right way. His philosophy on everything — offseason, training camp, in-season, post season, evaluations, draft, free agency. He gave a lot of his time to me.
“I was able to hopefully pick up as much as I could,” McDaniels continued. “Still got a lot to learn. He was a great mentor for me, not only in football but also just in terms of when I got there I was 23-24 years old. Basically, grew up there. Indebted to him forever for that.”
After McDaniels was fired by the Broncos in 2010, he eventually came back to the Patriots. In retrospect, McDaniels noted that he learned even more from Belichick after gaining a more experienced eye for detail.
“Getting to go back there after I had my experience with Denver, I think that was a really important period of time for me because I knew what I had done and what I had experienced, and I got to kind of take some time and really try to soak in ‘alright, I know I didn’t do that very well,’ and then I’m watching him the second time around,” McDaniels explained. “And maybe the first time I didn’t even know to look for it, and now I’m looking for different things, how he handles adversity, what he’s doing in the offseason, how he’s handling the bye week, what’s he doing in April, May, June, etc. that maybe I wasn’t even clued in on that existed before I left.
“So it gave me a great opportunity to look at it through a different lens and really try to take some time to process those things while I was watching somebody that’s obviously the best that’s ever done it, and do it again. The time for me was important for me personally, and obviously he’s always given to me time, attention, information. He’s always been very open and honest with me about everything. I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for him.”
As for the upcoming game, the mentee knows his old mentor will be all-business.
“I know he’s going to get his football team ready to play on Sunday,” McDaniels said. “I don’t think he’s going to care a whole lot about how much he mentored me or what he did, and vice versa. And that’s not a bad thing. I don’t think he would expect anything less from me than to just compete and do everything we can to help our team win, and I know that’s what he’s going to do. So I look forward to the competition.”
Trivia: Which running back was the first draft pick made by Josh McDaniels as a head coach with the Broncos in 2009?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: University of Georgia
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The Patriots could be dealing with an injury at long snapper: Joe Cardona has not missed a game since joining New England in 2015.
Richard Jefferson argued the Celtics had a “terrible road trip” despite going 4-2:
On this day: In 1996, Adam Vinatieri chased down Cowboys kickoff returner Herschel Walker from behind and tackled him. It was a moment indicative of Vinatieri’s approach to the game.
He was, as Bill Belichick later noted, not a kicker. He was a “football player.”
Daily highlight: Mats Zuccarello fell to the ice but still managed to find the back of the net in a 4-1 Wild win over the Red Wings.
Trivia answer: Knowshon Moreno
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