According to multiple reports, including Adam Schefter of ESPN, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and director of player personnel Dave Ziegler are expected to be named the Raiders' next head coach and general manager.
The package deal for Vegas will be a tough blow to New England, both to their front office and coaching staff.
Ziegler spent just one season in his position overseeing personnel but spent eight years before that on the Patriots scouting staff. In-house option Eliot Wolf, who interviewed for GM spots with the Bears and Vikings, could be a possibility to take over Ziegler's role.
McDaniels caps off his second tenure with the Patriots after returning in 2012. Previously, he had been with the Patriots from 2001-2008, leaving for his first head coaching stint with the Broncos. McDaniels was a big part of rookie Mac Jones' successful first season and Jones' further development without McDaniels will be the top question on fans' minds.
Former offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien, who spent 2021 as Alabama's OC, was already mentioned by Schefter as a potential McDaniels replacement. O'Brien and Jones crossed paths last offseason.
"I think the most challenging thing for me was, when I came in here, learning this offense," O'Brien said. "And I had a lot of people help me, people that were here before, guys on the coaching staff, obviously Bryce [Young]. I've said before, Mac Jones, when he was working out for the draft, helped me a little bit, which was great. So I'm really thankful to those people."
After an offseason in 2021 that earned Bill Belichick Executive of the Year, the questions he faces in 2022 are already starting to pile up.
