Josh McDaniels insists he is a changed man.
On Monday, the longtime Patriots assistant was named as the next head coach of the Raiders, and some eyebrows were raised over the move.
While McDaniels fosters a reputation of building great offenses, some questioned replacing the beloved Rich Bisaccia with someone with a rough history as a boss (or a potential one).
It's been 12 years since McDaniels was fired from the Broncos head-coaching job, and on Monday, the 45-year-old coach explained why his 11-17 Denver tenure was disastrous:
When I went to Denver, I knew a little bit of football. I didn’t really know people and how important that aspect of this process, and maintaining the culture and building the team was. And I failed, and I didn’t succeed at it. Looking at that experience has been one of the best things in my life in terms of my overall growth as a person, as a coach. What do I need to do different, how do I need to handle my role, if I have another opportunity, and do better at it? I feel like that’s really an area that I’ve tried to grow in.
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McDaniels demonstrates some self-awareness here. While with Denver, he exhibited some questionable personnel decisions — trading wideout Brandon Marshall, quarterback Jay Cutler, drafting Tim Tebow — his personal interactions ultimately did him in. He was fired in his second season.
He returned to the sidelines with the Rams in 2011 before Bill Belichick welcomed him back in New England in 2012, where he would stay until accepting the Raiders gig.
In 2018, McDaniels was slotted to become Colts head coach before pulling out on the same day he was to be officially introduced. The move drew heavy criticism, in part because prospective members of the staff had already signed on to join McDaniels in Indianapolis.
While McDaniels promises he's changed between 2010 and now, ultimately, his actions will speak louder than his words.