FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Josh McDaniels expects to be with the New England Patriots for at least another season.
The Patriots offensive coordinator said Tuesday that “the book is closed” on him interviewing for other open head coaching jobs and that he is committed to New England moving forward.
McDaniels said during a conference call that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview with Green Bay over the weekend, but that he is “completely focused” on the Patriots and their divisional playoff matchup with the Chargers.
On Monday, Matt LaFleur accepted an offer to become the Packers next coach.
“It’s always a humbling experience to have an opportunity to interview with anybody for that position. I was thankful for the opportunity to meet with Green Bay,” McDaniels said. “It always gives you greater insight into an organization and how they do things. That was great, but now I’m completely focused on the Chargers and our season and finishing it strong and I’ll be here moving forward.”
McDaniels said he has not been in contact with the Cleveland Browns about their coaching job.
Last offseason, McDaniels agreed to become the coach in Indianapolis before changing his mind and returning to New England.
He said he wasn’t sure if that decision factored into teams’ willingness to approach him about coaching jobs this time around.
“I have no idea, you’d have to obviously ask them if that had anything to do with anything like that,” he said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity that I had but, obviously, more importantly thankful for the opportunity that I have here.”
McDaniels is one of Coach Bill Belichick’s most-tenured assistants, having served under him for a combined 15 years – 10 as offensive coordinator – over two different stints, beginning in 2001. It’s a run that allowed him to be a part of all five of New England’s Super Bowl wins.
He left the Patriots in 2009 to coach the Denver Broncos. When that ended following the 2010 season, he spent the 2011 season as offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams before rejoining the Patriots in 2012.
TIGHT END Jacob Hollister was placed on injured reserve by New England on Tuesday and tight end Stephen Anderson was promoted from the practice squad.
In his second season, Hollister appeared in eight games with one start and caught four passes for 52 yards.
But he has battled injuries, including a hamstring issue that kept him sidelined for the regular-season finale against the Jets.
In addition, the Patriots signed defensive back A.J. Howard and offensive lineman Dan Skipper to the practice squad.
COACH BILL Belichick, during a conference call, was told Trey Flowers had a nightmare about not being able to set the edge and was asked what that says about Flowers in making sure he plays the defense correctly.
“I don’t know. I’m not an analyst of nightmares,” Belichick said. “But look, I think our players certainly recognize the importance of our season and where we are with this season and what we’ve earned the right to do, which is to play in this game and it’s important for all of us to do our jobs the best that we can and perform well. That’s what we’re here for.”
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