Josh McDaniels was the favorite to be the Green Bay Packers coach when the season ended and the coaching search truly began for Green Bay. After an interview on the Friday before the Wild Card Weekend with McDaniels, the Packers decided to move in another direction. They went with Matt LaFleur. Most Packers fans including myself think this is a great hire, and LaFleur is building a great staff to carry Green Bay into the future. That said, it cannot be ignored McDaniels two weeks of domination from an offensive playcaller. A tinge of regret has to set it, right? Or maybe, this would have been the worst case scenario for the Packers.

Patriots offense might have been underrated heading into the playoffs. They were a top DVOA team, yet, people pushed them aside a bit because of Tom Brady’s struggles, Josh Gordon’s departure and not having Julian Edelman at 100 percent. What people missed was McDaniels developed a power rushing team around Brady. Sony Michel, James White and Rex Burkhead built a machine of a rushing attack. In the playoffs, the Patriots offensive coordinator unleashed a tour de force of offense and led this team to another Super Bowl. This man could have been the next Packers coach.

If Packers did hire McDaniels, everything would be behind until early February. Instead of a guy like LaFleur building a coaching staff and the team beginning to scout for the NFL Draft plus discussions about free agents who fit the new look Packers, McDaniels would just be getting started in two weeks. That might be a disaster. Look at Miami and Cincinnati who basically have to put everything on pause until the Super Bowl ends and that has to be infuriating as a fan of those teams.

Another aspect of a potential McDaniels hire might be an upcoming waffling moment from a known waffler like McDaniels. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl, are we sure Bill Belichick is going to keep coaching? Belichick and Brady might just shut it down paving the way for McDaniels to take over as head coach. Could you imagine him having agreed in principle to be the Packers coach only for him to say ‘Yeah, I’m going to take over New England from Bill, instead, good luck with your search.’ Packers would have to restart their search in fucking February when teams are starting to scout for next year. It would be a complete and utter disaster.

Do the Packers regret it? Probably not but McDaniels’ success in the playoffs cannot be ignored.

Charlie.