Josh McDaniels on the Patriots trying to replace him: Bill Belichick has ‘a plan for whatever he wants to do’

How are the New England Patriots going to replace Josh McDaniels?

That question has led to considerable debate and speculation ever since the team’s long-time offensive coordinator departed in February to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. With McDaniels’ new team and his old one meeting for a set of joint practices this week, it again has come into the spotlight.

McDaniels has been removed from that process, obviously, but his insight into how the Patriots tend to operate is still valuable. On Wednesday, ahead of the second and final joint session, he was asked his thoughts on the issue.

The 46-year-old sang an all-too-familiar tune: In Bill We Trust.

“I really don’t know exactly what everybody’s doing over there. I just know that they have a lot of really good coaches,” McDaniels said before taking a trip down memory lane.

“I was in a position once where I was on the defensive side of the ball for a couple of years, then I moved over and coached quarterbacks for one year. And then all of a sudden the next thing I’m doing is being ready to call the offense after being on the offensive side for one year. I remember nobody believed that that was really the case.”

McDaniels first arrived in New England in 2001 as a personnel assistant, moving into coaching on the defensive side of the ball the following year. After two years as an assistant on defense, he was asked to work with the quarterbacks.

He was calling plays the following year, officially inheriting the title of offensive coordinator by 2006. His anecdote is an example of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick having faith in his assistant coaches’ abilities regardless of their backgrounds.

This season is more of the same, with New England using Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to help replace their long-time coordinator. Neither Patricia nor Judge have considerable experience working on the offensive side of the ball, but it is obvious that Belichick trusts them to get the job done and the offense ready.

Count McDaniels among the believers of this setup.

“I think at the end of the day, Bill has a plan for whatever he wants to do,” he said on Wednesday. “That plan, sometimes, he has foresight that some of the rest of us don’t have. I didn’t have it when he pushed me ahead and helped me do that.

“I have a lot of friends over there, I have a lot of people over there that I have a tremendous amount of respect for. Coaching is coaching, you learn something new every day I don’t have every answer on offense, I don’t have every answer on defense or in the special teams area. That’s why you have a staff, so you work together and try to produce the best result you can.”