In life, sometimes all you need is a second chance to prove yourself. In Josh McDaniels’ case, he’s made the most out of his situation in Foxborough.

McDaniels spent less than two seasons as the head coach of the Denver Broncos, where he went 11-17 before losing his job in 2010. Despite receiving a bad rap for his short tenure in the Mile High City, McDaniels’ failures as a first time head coach is nothing out of the ordinary.

His mentor, Bill Belichick, didn’t start off being considered the mastermind that he is today. In Cleveland, Belichick finished with a record of 36-44. During his five-year stint in northeast Ohio, the Browns finished with a winning record only one time, going 11-5 in 1994.

Everything in life is a learning experience and apparently for Belichick, his time in Cleveland was used as practice to become the head coach he is today. So maybe, just maybe, McDaniels’ time in Denver will translate into similar success when he gets his second shot.

“I have learned a tremendous amount,” McDaniels said. “There is probably so many things that I learned there. I think one of the things that I really learned in Denver is the value of being a good listener. When you do something like that for the first time you feel like you have to run through everything and be in charge of too many things and sometimes that is a significant negative. I have tried really hard in St. Louis and then here back in New England. We really gather ideas, we listen to one another and try to do the best thing for the offense in this particular case and it has really been a great thing. Our atmosphere on our staff has been very healthy and a big part of that is that we have a lot of guys that can contribute and it doesn’t come from one source. I made a lot of mistakes there and you know that. I think it was a great learning experience for myself. Hopefully I have grown from that and will continue to grow.”

While Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have received most of the headlines, Josh McDaniels was probably the most important ingredient to New England’s success. 

“I mean, Josh did a great job for us, he’s always done a great job for us,” Belichick said. “… [He] does a great job with the offense, works hard, very well prepared, great rapport with the quarterbacks and the entire offensive staff and the players, and I love having Josh on our staff. Really, I mean, I’m lucky to have a great staff and very fortunate to have Josh.”

Throughout the postseason, McDaniels’ plan changed drastically game-to-game. Against Baltimore’s vaunted front seven, he completely abandoned the running game. Brady attacked the Ravens’ secondary all game, throwing the ball 50 times to go along with three touchdowns. Against Indianapolis, the Patriots relied on LeGarrette Blount, who rushed for 148 yards on 30 carries with three touchdowns of his own.

In the Super Bowl, McDaniels reverted back to the passing attack, but it came with patience. New England utilized the short passing game to set up an occasional bomb over the top, while not throwing Richard Sherman’s way.

Moving forward many people believe McDaniels will get another opporunity at becoming a head coach, but the question is when?

Atlanta, Buffalo and San Francisco all expressed interest, but they all ended up going in different directions. While McDaniels is in a good position, every coach wants to become the leader of the locker room.

“Yeah, I would love to do it again,” McDaniels explained. “I think the most important thing to me is to just be in the right situation and just be in a place where I feel good about being. There are a lot of great teams and great places out there. I happen to be in a good situation for myself right now and for my family. If it comes up again and it is like there it is, that is the right spot, then I would love to do it again and give it another shot.”

McDaniels’ time should come soon enough.