Josh McDaniels to Patriots: Everyone Wins in Former OC's Return to New England

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will be returning to New England in a move that benefits both parties.

McDaniels will be replacing Bill O'Brien, who is leaving to become the head coach at Penn State. O'Brien is still with New England through the playoffs, so McDaniels will just be an assistant until the offseason.

This is a great decision by both McDaniels and the Patriots.

For McDaniels, this is a chance to resurrect his young coaching career. He was a phenom coordinator with New England from 2006 to 2008, presiding over some of the most prolific offenses in NFL history. 

Under McDaniels' watch in 2007, the Patriots offense led the league in scoring (36.8 points per game) and yardage (411.2 per game) on their way to an undefeated regular season.

During that year Tom Brady set the NFL record with 50 touchdown passes and led the league with 295.7 passing yards per game.

Despite gaining some notoriety, McDaniels hasn't had much success since leaving New England. He struggled with lesser players in Denver and St. Louis, suggesting that the coordinator is only as good as his personnel.

Without him, the Patriots have been just fine. 

New England once again had one of the NFL's top offenses in 2011. In the regular season, they finished third in scoring (32.1 points per game) and second in passing (317.8 yards per game).

Franky, as long as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are in New England, it doesn't matter who the offensive coordinator is.

Still, McDaniels has undeniable chemistry with Brady and the Patriots were smart to bring him back.