Earlier in the week, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had been tied to the head coaching vacancy at Florida. However, it can now be said with certainly that he will not be taking that job. The reason? Florida has apparently hired Colorado State University coach Jim McElwain:
Jim McElwain/CSU cleared up buyout issues, McElwain agrees to be UF’s coach sources told @ClowESPN
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) December 4, 2014
This is welcome news for Patriots fans, although we do not know whether or not the interest between McDaniels and Florida was ever mutual.
McDaniels has done an excellent job in 2014 as the Patriots’ coordinator. With an underperforming offensive line, he’s found a way to completely restructure the Patriots offense on the fly.
As one of the league’s top coordinators, as long as there are head coaching vacancies (in both professional and collegiate ranks), there will be rumors of McDaniels being tied to those teams and programs. Unless, of course, McDaniels eventually ends up becoming Bill Belichick’s successor in New England. That path, if taken, would seemingly be several years away at the earliest, making it an unlikely outcome.