Patriots, Texans offensive coordinators will be a comparison worth watching in 2025
What should the New England Patriots have done with their offensive coordinator position? Bring in a familiar, experienced guy with proven success? Or take a chance on an up-and-coming, bright young offensive mind?
The Pats chose the former option, with the return of Josh McDaniels for a third stint as offensive coordinator in New England. Meanwhile, one of their other potential options, Nick Caley, has joined the Houston Texans as their new OC.
McDaniels and Caley will be a “matchup” worth watching closely in the 2025 season.
Recent reporting suggests that new Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel preferred McDaniels over younger, less experienced options for the offensive coordinator spot, due to his experience and pedigree. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said recently that Vrabel approached him with McDaniels as his first choice to be OC. One can imagine that Kraft didn’t offer any pushback on that one.
Caley will be an intriguing case study. A former Patriots assistant, Caley coached tight ends in New England from 2017-22 before heading to the Rams in 2023, where he coached tight ends under Sean McVay. He interviewed for the Pats’ then-vacant offensive coordinator position in 2024, but ultimately stayed in Los Angeles, where he was promoted to pass game coordinator in addition to tight ends coach. In Houston, Caley will be a first-time offensive coordinator.
Caley has an advantage over McDaniels in terms of personnel, with both starting tackles in place (Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard) and at least one dynamic wide receiver (Nico Collins) to work with, along with young franchise quarterback C.J. Stroud. But despite their talent, the Texans were 19th in points per game (21.9) in 2024, while Stroud regressed to an 87.0 passer rating. That backslide, in large part, led to the firing of Bobby Slowik as OC, and the hiring of Caley.
So, Caley is in a position to bring the Texans offense back to prominence after a down year. If he succeeds, those who wanted the Patriots to gamble on a younger, less experienced OC candidate will have a check mark in their favor.
This comparison only underlines the Patriots’ need to upgrade their offensive personnel for McDaniels, and especially for quarterback Drake Maye. They need to take advantage of Maye’s rookie deal while he’s on it, and get him serious help on both the offensive line and at receiver.
Until then, the McDaniels and Caley debate may not be totally apples-to-apples. But it will be one of the sneaky-interesting narratives to follow between the two teams in 2025.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
