Patriots players react to Josh McDaniels getting fired by the Raiders

FOXBORO -- Josh McDaniels has been fired as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, less than two years into his six-year contract with the team. With all that term left on his contract, it was a bit surprising that Mark Davis gave McDaniels the boot.

But the Raiders are a disappointing 3-5 this season, and went 9-16 overall under McDaniels with little improvement in sight. The longtime Patriots offensive coordinator hasn't had much success at either of his head coaching stops, with a combined 20-33 record in his time with the Raiders and the Denver Broncos.

Patriots quarterback Mac Jones enjoyed the most success of his career with McDaniels as his offensive coordinator, showing a lot of promise as a rookie in 2021. Jones earned a Pro Bowl nod (albeit as a replacement) in his lone season with McDaniels, and was asked about his firing on Wednesday.

"I have a lot of respect for Josh and his family. I had a great experience with him and we have a good relationship," said Jones. "That's a tough part of the business. Like I said I have a lot of respect for Josh and what he's done for this place. Definitely my thoughts are with him."

New England tight end Hunter Henry only played one season with McDaniels as his offensive coordinator in Foxboro, but had a career-high nine touchdown receptions that year. Like Jones, he was sad to see McDaniels get the ax by Las Vegas.

"It's always tough to see [that happen to] someone that you worked with, someone that you put in a lot of work in with, you were together a lot. I have a lot of respect for Josh and I appreciated my time with him here," said Henry. "Always feel bad to see that; you never want to see that [happen to] someone you worked with and put in a lot of hours with."

After being fired by the Broncos in 2010, McDaniels spent a season as the offensive coordinator of the Rams before returning to New England for an 11-year run as Patriots offensive coordinator. In total, he's spent 19 of his 24 seasons with the Patriots, serving as offensive coordinator for 14 of those seasons.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about another potential reunion with McDaniels on Wednesday morning, but gave his usual stock answer.

"Just getting ready for Washington," said the head coach.

While McDaniels didn't have much success in Las Vegas, he was 2-0 against his former team over the last two seasons.