Nobody can ever say that former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick isn't loyal, and you need not look any further than his relationship with former Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Josh McDaniels.
According to Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, McDaniels not only would have been back in the NFL in 2024 after a disastrous tenure with the Raiders had Belichick been hired by the Atlanta Falcons, he would have had a major role.
Breer writes that McDaniels was being considered for a "hybrid front office-coaching role," although Breer didn't go into specifics on what that role entailed. What we can say is that the Falcons dodged a bullet after what we saw of McDaniels in Vegas and other NFL stops.
Interestingly enough, former Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was being considered for a hybrid front office-coaching role had Belichick landed with the Atlanta Falcons, and much of Houston Texans GM Nick Caserio’s background, before he led New England’s personnel department, was in coaching. Both Belichick and McDaniels have close relationships with Stevens, so it’s fair to guess that these sorts of moves, from coaching to personnel, have been discussion points between that particular group of guys.
Considering McDaniels has been Belichick's long-time offensive coordinator, that likely would have been part of his hybrid role. It's anyone's guess what McDaniels would have done in the front office, though, but chances are he wouldn't have been good at it.
McDaniels was hired by the Raiders in 2022 and went on to post a 6-11 record in his first season. Then, after a 3-5 start in 2023 that saw McDaniels lose the locker room, he was canned in favor of Antonio Pierce, who went on to become the Raiders' full-time head coach in 2024.
