Raiders officially hire Patriots' Josh McDaniels as new head coach

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The Las Vegas Raiders officially hired longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their next head coach.

The Raiders introduced McDaniels and new general manager Dave Ziegler during a news conference Monday. McDaniels replaces interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, and Ziegler takes over for Mike Mayock, who was fired earlier this month.

McDaniels, who served as head coach of the Denver Broncos for two seasons (2009-10), interviewed for the Raiders' head-coaching position Saturday. On Sunday, reports surfaced that McDaniels was offered the job and contracts were being finalized.

"I've been patient," McDaniels said Monday. "I've been selective, maybe to a fault sometimes. People wanted me to do things a little earlier than maybe I did them, but it was going to take a special place for me to really leave where I was. I found that here in Las Vegas."

The 45-year-old McDaniels posted an 11-17 record in his two seasons with the Broncos. The organization fired him after Week 13 of the 2010 campaign following Denver's 3-9 start.

McDaniels, who spent his first eight NFL seasons in New England (2001-08), eventually returned to the Patriots in 2012 after his failed head-coaching stint in Denver. He had held the Patriots' offensive coordinator position since that 2012 season and was the longest-tenured offensive coordinator with the same team in the league.

McDaniels briefly accepted the Indianapolis Colts' head-coaching position in 2018, but he later decided not to take it. The Colts had announced the hire, but McDaniels never showed up. Frank Reich was later hired to fill the vacancy.

Of his 21 seasons in the NFL, 18 have come in New England. McDaniels -- a six-time Super Bowl champion -- also served as the then-St. Louis Rams' offensive coordinator in 2011.

Former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden resigned Oct. 11 after reports that emails he wrote before he was hired by the franchise in 2018 contained racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language. Bisaccia was elevated to interim coach and guided the team to a wild-card berth.