FOXBOROUGH, MA – They might not be the Harbaugh brothers, and it might not be the Super Bowl, but the McDaniels brothers find themselves in a similar situation as the Houston Texans and New England Patriots prepare for a Jan. 18 divisional-round matchup.
“Obviously these are interesting situations when you find yourself competing with your sibling,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. “A little more interesting for my parents than anybody else.”
Ben McDaniels, four years younger than Josh, is the Texans’ wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. Both McDaniels will do everything he can to help his team win and expects the same of his brother. One will lose. One will win. They are both well aware of that.
“He’s trying to beat us,” Josh McDaniels said, “just like we’re trying to beat him.”
Josh McDaniels, in the first season of his third stint as New England’s offensive coordinator, has been instrumental in the Patriots’ turnaround and emergence of quarterback Drake Maye into the MVP conversation. Maye, famously the youngest of four boys in an athletic family, has enjoyed being a part of the McDaniels family drama.
“There’s some friendly banter going on between Drake and Josh,” quarterbacks coach Ashton Grant said.
“He’s trying to get Josh riled up a little bit,” Grant added. “Josh is a very competitive person himself. So, I think Drake tries to nudge him a little bit, which is fun for the room.”
The McDaniels brothers grew up in a coach’s household. Their father, Thom, is one of the most successful high school coaches in Ohio history. Once they followed in dad’s footsteps and established their own careers, Ben worked for Josh when the latter was the head coach of the Denver Broncos and the former served as his elder brother’s offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach. Their paths diverged after that – Josh back to New England, to the Las Vegas Raiders, and back to New England again. Ben had various roles at the college level (Columbia, Rutgers, Michigan) and rejoined the pros with the Texans in 2021 and has been in his current role since 2022.
“We compete in almost anything we do, honestly, which is kind of fun,” Josh McDaniels said. “This will be no different.”
There is a bit more at stake this time. It is the fourth time their teams have faced one another, but the first in the playoffs. The difference between the other three meetings and this postseason matchup is noticeable.
“Again, I’m not competing against him. We’re competing against the Texans,” Josh McDaniels said. “It’s gonna be a helluva game and it’s going to be an enormous challenge.”