Josh McDaniels believes he tried to copy Bill Belichick too much in his first HC job

Josh McDaniels is one of a number of Bill Belichick assistants who struck out on his own as a head coach and wound up failing. It turns out that McDaniels knows that and thinks he may have leaned a bit too hard into his New England Patriots connection.

McDaniels made an interesting admission Thursday about his first stint as a head coach with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010. The longtime Patriots offensive coordinator said he’d tried to emulate Belichick a bit too much, and it cost him. He’s being careful to take a different approach in his second chance as a head coach with the Las Vegas Raiders.