SANTA CLARA, Calif. — We’ll get to Josh McDaniels’ head-coaching record in a moment, but first, he deserves some flowers. 

McDaniels is back in the Super Bowl, which is a familiar spot for him. He is one of the few New England Patriots who have been a part of all six Super Bowl championship teams for the franchise. He was an assistant for the first three title teams (personnel assistant in 2001, defensive assistant in 2003, quarterbacks coach in 2004) and an offensive coordinator for the final three. 

This one is different, and potentially historic. McDaniels is back without head coach Bill Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady. Now it’s Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye, the latter of which McDaniels helped develop into an MVP candidate in Maye’s second season. 

Having a huge season without Brady and taking Maye to a star level is impressive, and so is this: If the Patriots win Super Bowl LX, it will be the fourth time McDaniels has won a Super Bowl ring as a coordinator. That would tie Steve Spagnuolo’s NFL record for Super Bowl wins as a coordinator. McDaniels doesn’t turn 50 years old until April. 

“It means I’ve been around a lot of great people,” McDaniels said on Wednesday at the Patriots’ Super Bowl LX media availability. “None of us would be here if it wasn’t for a great group of people in the organization that help us do our jobs. The players deserve the most credit for all those things we’ve had in the past.

“You try to do the best in your role to help the team win, and if you’re so fortunate and lucky to be part of this thing, you cherish it.”

There was a question if Spagnuolo deserves consideration as a potential Pro Football Hall of Famer. No coach has made the Hall of Fame based primarily on their work as a coordinator. Maybe it’s time to have that conversation about McDaniels too. 

However, that’s complicated.

Josh McDaniels’ unusual career arc

It’s hard to reconcile these two facts: McDaniels is one of the most accomplished coordinators in NFL history. He is also will be remembered as of the worst NFL head coaches in recent memory, if he doesn’t get another shot to lead a team.

McDaniels got two chances to be a head coach and both ended in midseason firings amid the franchise burning to the ground. McDaniels was 11-17 as Broncos head coach, and that came after a 6-0 start. He was fired due to losses and controversy; he was fined $50,000 for the team videotaping a 49ers practice before a game in London. 

McDaniels’ time with the Las Vegas Raiders wasn’t better. He went 9-16 and was fired after a team meeting in which players ripped McDaniels for his coaching style. 

Those two stops don’t count the time McDaniels accepted the Indianapolis Colts’ head coaching job in 2018 but never got on the plane to Indianapolis, choosing to back out of the job and stay with New England as its offensive coordinator. 

There have certainly been ups and downs throughout his career as a coach.

“It’s football,” McDaniels said. “The game of football is an imperfect game. I try to learn the best I can every year, every week, to try to get better.

“The failings in your career are much like the failings in any other aspect of your life. You probably learn the most from them. I’ve had an opportunity to grow from the things I haven’t done as well and hopefully I’ve taken full advantage of those things and try to be the best version of myself going forward.”

In most other situations, a coach on the good side of 50 years old who is considered an offensive whiz and just developed a second-year quarterback into an MVP candidate on the way to the Super Bowl would be atop many teams’ list of head-coaching candidates. None of the coordinators hired this cycle have a better resume as an assistant coach than McDaniels. But coaches with 20-33 records in their first two stops as a head coach usually don’t get a third chance, especially when there’s as much baggage as McDaniels as collected in that role.

“Every day is one day at a time for me now,” McDaniels said about the possibility of being a head coach again. “I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m incredibly happy to be here and doing what I’m doing, I love my job. I love the role I have. I love the group I’m with. Whatever that plan is down the road, we’ll figure that out. But I couldn’t be more happy where I’m at.” 

McDaniels a big part of Drake Maye’s breakout

Whatever issues have prevented McDaniels from success as a head coach, it’s impossible to deny his football acumen. 

The Patriots were 4-13 last season as McDaniels took a year off following the Raiders’ debacle. Mike Vrabel was hired by New England, he hired McDaniels to run the offense and the Patriots went 14-3. Maye led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also throwing for 8.9 yards per attempt.

Vrabel has gotten a lot of credit, and will likely win NFL Coach of the Year when it is announced on Thursday. McDaniels is a huge part of this championship season too, of course.

“Josh is always on top of it,” Patriots receiver Kayshon Boutte said. “With the game plan, he studies the other team really well. I always feel like he’s one step ahead.

“What impressed me most is I’ve never had an offensive coordinator that is really hands on and always one step ahead.”

Being as successful as McDaniels has been is also more than calling the right route concept to beat a Cover-3 defense. There was a moment during the Patriots’ AFC championship game win at the Broncos in which Maye, who will be the second-youngest quarterback ever to start a Super Bowl, seemed frustrated on the bench. It was cold, windy and the field was covered in snow. 

“It’s hard,” Maye said as he was mic’ed up. “Good god.” 

McDaniels chuckled and told Maye: “Listen to me. Look at me. It’s going to be hard. But look, this will be the most rewarding six-and-a-half minutes of our lives if we can get it done.” 

New England closed the win with Maye running for a first down that allowed the Patriots to run out the clock.

When McDaniels and Brady were working together, it wasn’t uncommon to see the two having heated arguments on the sideline. That was part of their relationship. The calming moment with Maye on the bench in Denver is not a side of McDaniels that is part of his reputation. 

“You try to do the right thing as a coach, no matter when it is, whether it’s Tuesday night in the office or you’re freezing cold on the bench in the fourth quarter of a playoff game,” McDaniels said when asked about that moment on the bench. “Whatever they need from you, whatever they require at the time, is what you’re really supposed to try to give them.

“I have four kids between the ages of 13 and 21, and they require guidance and as much wisdom as my wife and I can give them, as much as possible. I still think that’s part of my job as a coach.” 

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Drake Maye hasn’t lived Sam Darnold’s journey. They were both third overall picks in their respective NFL Drafts. Maye went from promising rookie season to stardom in year two. Darnold was already on his way to being labeled a bust by the end of his second season.

Even though Maye doesn’t personally know what Darnold went through to reach Super Bowl LX, he has respect for the path the Seattle Seahawks quarterback took to get there.

“What a journey,” Maye said at Super Bowl Opening Night. “Obviously he got in a scenario where [the Jets] decided to move on, and from there on, he has battled not playing for years, being the backup, getting his chance and making the most of it. It’s been awesome to see.

“Such a great story, it’s what makes the league so special is stories like Sam that puts his head down, works hard and has turned into one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”

Even Darnold’s opposition at quarterback understands that he is one of the biggest stories of Super Bowl LX.

It’s not uncommon for players to be labeled as a bust and then turn their careers around as they develop. However, it is highly unusual for a quarterback to go from an early-career bust to a Super Bowl starting quarterback. 

Darnold wasn’t even signed to be a sure starter by the Minnesota Vikings about 23 months ago. He was going to be a bridge quarterback to first-round rookie J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy got hurt, Darnold took over and had a good season, then he moved onto the Seahawks and led Seattle to a 14-3 regular-season record and an NFC championship. Even though Darnold’s Vikings were 14-3 last season and he played very well, nobody saw him taking Seattle to the Super Bowl in the first year of his three-year, $100.5 million deal. 

Now he’ll start in Super Bowl LX and he’s just 28 years old. He still has plenty of time to add onto his unusual resume. How he fares on Sunday will go a long way in shaping his reputation, which wasn’t a positive one just a few years ago.  

“I think you have to embrace failure, and learn from your mistakes,” Darnold said. “Learning from my mistakes early in my career has gotten me to this point.

“Every time you fail or you might lose a game or you might not do exactly what you want to do on every single play, you learn from that. If you learn from that, you can look ahead to better things.”

There were times in which it didn’t seem like there were better things ahead for him in the NFL. But to Darnold, that’s all part of the journey that brought him here.

Chris Graythen via Getty Images

Sam Darnold’s rare path to the Super Bowl

Jim Plunkett is probably the best comparison to Darnold, among Super Bowl quarterbacks. 

Plunkett was the first pick of the 1971 NFL Draft, didn’t work out with the Patriots, spent a couple of decent seasons with the 49ers before going to the Raiders, and in his second season with Oakland he took over as the starter. He ended up guiding the Raiders to two Super Bowl titles. Plunkett also had difficulty getting the credit of most Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks — he and Eli Manning the only players to start at QB in multiple Super Bowl wins and not be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, among eligible players — and Darnold faces that battle as well despite plenty of success with the Minnesota Vikings last season and the Seahawks this season. 

Other quarterbacks have taken circuitous routes to being a Super Bowl starter. Terry Bradshaw had a shaky start to his career before winning four Super Bowls, but the Steelers stuck it out with him whereas Darnold is on his fifth team in eight seasons. Doug Williams was written off and well into his career when he won Super Bowl XXII MVP with Washington, but he did have success early in his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, unlike Darnold. Rich Gannon emerged late in his career to lead the Raiders to a Super Bowl but he was a fourth-round pick. Darnold was picked third overall. 

There are stories similar to Darnold’s but not many. Darnold washed out with the Jets after they drafted him, things didn’t get better in his two seasons with the Panthers, then he was onto what looked like the backup phase of his career with the 49ers. Darnold got his break with McCarthy’s injury, and his teams are 30-7 including playoffs since. 

Darnold doesn’t sound bitter about how the early part of his career played out. He’s able to be reflective, and understand that the hard times helped shape his career.

“I take every experience as its own, no matter what happens,” Darnold said. “I was really blessed to be able to get drafted to the Jets. Obviously, things didn’t work out the way that I wanted to there, and then I went to the Carolina Panthers, where I made a lot of great friends and learned really good football as well. Just part of my journey.

“Then I went to San Francisco and was able to be a backup there for a great player in Brock Purdy, learned from a great coach in Kyle Shanahan. … Then I went to Minnesota and again, I was with some really great coaches and really great players as well. Everything I do, I just take it one day at a time.”

Darnold back in a Super Bowl

Darnold was at the Super Bowl two years ago, but as a backup for the San Francisco 49ers. Every Super Bowl there are a few players who were drafted high and mostly forgotten about, but are on the end of a Super Bowl roster playing a lesser role. 

NFL fans might not have noticed Darnold was on a Super Bowl team two years ago, but he’s front and center this time around. 

Darnold spoke often about learning on his teammates this season, and not trying to do too much and make mistakes because he’s pressing. Even though Darnold has made the Super Bowl, he doesn’t have it all figured out.

“I’m always learning things about myself and how I can get better,” Darnold said.

Darnold can provide inspiration to plenty of players around the league, whose careers started slow due to any number of reasons. Darnold was persistent amid the criticism, learned things from a few different stops, finally got his break and is one win from joining a select and memorable group of starting quarterbacks who have a Super Bowl ring.

The story is remarkable, even if it’s not the one he envisioned years ago.

“I think a big part of that is the journey, right?” Darnold said. “I wouldn’t have predicted … I would have loved to get drafted to New York and that be my home for 20 years. But it just didn’t work out that way.

“Seattle, just from the get go, right when I got here, felt like home.”

SAN JOSE, Calif. — If it was late September or mid-November, or practically any other week, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s shoulder might not be such a big deal. 

But this is Super Bowl week, and any small bit of news becomes a big deal. Especially when it’s an injury issue surrounding an NFL MVP finalist at quarterback. 

Maye hurt his shoulder in the third quarter of the AFC championship game when he scrambled and was tackled by Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga. Maye seemed to wince and briefly reach for his shoulder. That has turned into the Zapruder film of Super Bowl week. 

Maye was asked about his shoulder, among a number of off-the-wall topics, at Super Bowl LX Opening Night, when both teams meet the media to unofficially kick off the week in the Bay Area. He said his shoulder started “turning a corner” on the team flight to California on Sunday, he threw on Monday and is doing well.

“Feeling great. Yeah, feeling good,” Maye said. “I look forward to getting back out there the next few days.”

The Patriots being tight-lipped about what’s going on with Maye’s injury has added to the mystery, and allowed the story to probably become bigger than it probably should have been. Maye insisted there are no issues.

“I’m feeling good,” Maye said. “I’ll be just fine.”

Chris Graythen via Getty Images

Patriots hadn’t said much about Drake Maye injury

Nobody has indicated that Maye is in the slightest danger of missing the Super Bowl. He was listed as questionable on the initial injury report for Super Bowl LX, as he was listed with an illness as well as the shoulder injury. 

On Monday night, Maye expressed no concerns. He hadn’t thrown at any of the portions of practice that were open to the media last week, but he said his throwing on Monday went well.

“I threw a good bit,” Maye said. “I threw as much as I would in a practice and felt great. I’m looking forward to getting back out there on Wednesday and Thursday for practice again.”

That’s as much information as has been shared about Maye’s injury. Last week was a reminder that Patriots coach Mike Vrabel played for Bill Belichick, because he dodged any discussion of Maye’s injury last week. He said when asked about his concern over Maye’s shoulder: “Not much.” 

“No, I wouldn’t say that anybody hurt anything,” Vrabel said last week. “Everybody, including Drake, is not 100%.” 

Maye, who is likely to finish second in the MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford when awards are announced at the annual NFL Honors show on Thursday, will almost definitely play on Sunday. The question becomes whether he is affected at all, even if he indicated that won’t be an issue.

Maye has had an excellent season, throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns while leading the NFL with a 72% completion percentage and 8.9 yards per attempt. A shoulder injury might not only affect Maye’s arm strength when he passes the ball, but it could cause him to be more conservative when it comes to running the ball. He had 450 rushing yards in the regular season and his 65 yards rushing against the Broncos was a big factor in New England’s AFC championship game win. 

If Maye is affected, we probably won’t find that out until Sunday. It’s not like the Patriots are going to share too much about it. Maye made it sound like it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“I really had no doubt about being 100% for the game,” Maye said. “This is the Super Bowl and you’ve got two weeks to prepare for it, do whatever you’ve got to do to get it right, and I’ve got confidence and feel good.”

Maye gets his turn in the spotlight

Opening Night for Super Bowl week is light on serious discussion about injury reports or Xs and Os and heavy on silliness. For at least a half hour before Maye came to the podium, comedian Guillermo Rodriguez from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was camped out in the front row. Rodriguez asked the first questions, playing off a Kimmel bit about Matt Damon.

“He’s the man,” Maye said. “Any Pats fan, I’m a fan.”

The last Patriots’ quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, Tom Brady, was famously asked by a reporter from TV Azteca who was in a wedding dress if he’d marry her at one Opening Night. 

There was no wedding proposal for Maye, but he was asked about everything from the favorite cookies his wife makes (the answer was cinnamon snickerdoodles) to helping out fantasy football teams next season (“Do I consider myself a QB1 in fantasy? I think I’ve got to say yes,” he said) to his superstitions. He said he puts on his left sock first, but his right shoe first, stands in the same spot for the National Anthem and eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before each game. Unless it’s a night game, then he goes for grilled cheese.

“I’ve got a lot of things,” Maye realized.

Maye will be the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, and the extent of his breakout was one of the big stories of the NFL season. Because he ascended to being one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks so quickly, he’s still a bit of an unknown in terms of his personality. So was Brady for his first Super Bowl. By his 10th appearance he was internationally famous. 

Maye probably won’t be making Super Bowls in 20 years like Brady did over his NFL career, but he seems likely to be a face of the NFL for many years to come. He happily played along with all of the wacky questions on Monday and seemed to genuinely be enjoying his first huge moment in the NFL and all that comes with it.

“What a journey,” Maye said. “I hope to play in this league a long time, but I don’t take it for granted.”