Belichick: McDaniels is the top offensive coordinator in NFL

With Josh McDaniels set to take the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching position, it was all but guaranteed that the Super Bowl would be the offensive coordinator's last game with the New England Patriots.

Shortly after the club's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, however, McDaniels changed his mind and opted to remain on the Patriots' staff. It's a decision head coach Bill Belichick was certainly pleased with, as evidenced by the lavish praise he heaped upon McDaniels on Friday.

"I'm thrilled he's still with us and is going to continue in the role," Belichick told Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. "I think he's the top offensive coordinator in the league. He's done a great job for me for a long time in a lot of different roles so very glad, based on the meeting we had (after Super Bowl), there were a number of things that happened, but after the meeting that we had were able to work that out and keep him with us."

Under McDaniels' watch, the Patriots have finished in the top three in points per game over the last three seasons. Despite the fact he's now 40 years old, Tom Brady shows no signs of slowing down and is clearly comfortable with his veteran coordinator.

The common thought around the league is that McDaniels is being groomed as Belichick's eventual replacement when the 65-year-old decides to retire. That doesn't appear to be happening in the near future, so for now, McDaniels will have to settle for being called the best offensive coordinator in the league by arguably the best coach of all time.

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