The Last Time Josh McDaniels Faced Bill Belichick as a Head Coach, He Was On Top of the World
The Josh McDaniels vs. Bill Belichick rematch has lost a little bit of its luster. While Belichick’s New England Patriots have a winning record at 7-6 and are in the playoff mix, the same cant be said for McDaniels’ Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders have underachieved since McDaniels left New England as the team’s offensive coordinator this past offseason. McDaniels is in his second stint as an NFL head coach and will face Belichick on Sunday. It’s the second time McDaniels and Belichick have faced each other as head coaches. The first time they met, McDaniels was the NFL’s hottest story.
Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders have underachieved all season
Not only did the Raiders bring McDaniels on board this season, but they also bolstered their offense with the acquisition of wide receiver Davante Adams. With an offensive-minded coach now at the helm, the Raiders made a trade for one of the best receivers in the game in Adams.
While Adams hasn’t been the problem, the Raiders have struggled mightily under McDaniels. Four times this year, the Raiders have lost games in which they’ve led by 13 or more points. Frustration has mounted among the players. That became evident when quarterback Derek Carr had an emotional press conference after a crushing loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
“I love Josh. I love our coaches,” Carr said with his voice cracking with emotion. “They’ve had nothing but success, you know? Way more success than I’ve ever had. … I’m sorry for being emotional. I’m just pissed off by some of the things that a lot of us try and do just to practice. What we put our bodies through just to sleep at night.
“And for that to be the result of all that effort pisses me off, pisses a lot of guys off. It’s hard knowing what some guys are doing, like I said, just to practice. What they’re putting in their body just to sleep at night. Just so we can be there for each other. And I wish everybody in that room felt the same way about this place. And as a leader, that pisses me off.”
The Raiders are 5-8 and are coming off another collapse when they blew a 13-point lead in the final 3:19 last Thursday against the Los Angeles Rams.
McDaniels was on top of the world the last time he faced Belichick
The first time McDaniels and Belichick squared off was in 2009, McDaniels’ first season as the head coach of the Denver Broncos.
The meeting came during Week 5 when Belichick’s Patriots traveled to Denver. The Patriots held a 17-7 lead at the half. Matt Prater’s third-quarter field goal cut Denver’s deficit to 17-10 before Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton connected with Brandon Marshall on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 5:21 left. Prater won the game with a field goal in overtime.
The victory put the Broncos at 5-0 as McDaniels was hoisted up by his players as the game ended. Five games under his belt, five victories. The Broncos actually won the following week against the San Diego Chargers as McDaniels made coaching look easy, going 6-for-6 in his first six games.
Then things quickly fell apart. The Broncos sandwiched their only two wins the rest of the year around a pair of four-game losing streaks, finishing 8-8.
It only went downhill from there for McDaniels. The Broncos went 3-9 out of the gate in 2010 and fired McDaniels after Week 13.
Despite his career coaching mark of 16-25, McDaniels will look to make it two straight against Belichick on Sunday.
