“It’s hard for me to imagine anybody being a better leader and a better role model for a young coach,” says McDaniels, who joined the Patriots as an entry-level coaching assistant in 2001. “He gives you responsibility, and then he lets you do your job. Because we’re not being micromanaged, that gives you confidence, and then you start to build trust. That’s just how a good organization works, and he fosters that every day.”
Long before he helped turn the Patriots’ offense into a perennial juggernaut, McDaniels filled his day with necessary grunt work under Belichick’s watchful eye. As a coaching assistant, he was tasked with compiling “pads” — hand-drawn, ultra-detailed breakdowns of each play.
“It didn’t matter what it was,” McDaniels recalls. “If the receiver’s split was 4 yards outside the numbers but I only had it as 2, there would be a yellow sticky note by the receiver, and I would get it back, and it would say, ‘This is plus-4, not plus-2.’ He was basically teaching me how to work at his level. ‘No, it’s not OK to be good. It’s not OK to be detailed most of the time. What I want is as close to perfect as you can make it.’ ”
Nearly two decades later, Belichick essentially gives McDaniels free rein to craft the Patriots’ offensive scheme as he sees fit.
“I give him a little bit of input, but 90 to 95 percent is his plan, his vision,” Belichick says. “Rarely do we see things that differently. But sometimes there will be things that I suggest. Sometimes he’ll say, ‘I think that would be great,’ and sometimes he’ll say, ‘I don’t really think this is the right time for us to do that. Here’s the reason why.’ And he’s usually right.”