It is officially the time of the 2026 NFL Honors, and for the first award of the night, it is the Assistant Coach of the Year.
Although this award may not get as much recognition as the Coach of the Year, the ACOYs are among the most talented people in the NFL, and some will be head coaches sooner rather than later.
Patriots OC Josh McDaniels Wins Assistant Coach of the Year
For the award, the finalists were New England Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos DC Vance Joseph, Minnesota Vikings DC Brian Flores, Seattle Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak, and Philadelphia Eagles DC Vic Fangio.
Out of the names listed, 4 out of the 5 coaches were a part of playoff teams, and two of those coaches, McDaniels and Kubiak, will be facing off in Super Bowl 60. Both offensive coordinators have a tough battle ahead of them on Sunday, but for now, their first battle happened tonight
In the end, McDaniels has been named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year. Here is how the votes went:
Assistant Coach of the Year voting — first-place votes:
Josh McDaniels: 17
Vance Joseph: 10
Brian Flores: 8
Vic Fangio: 4
Klint Kubiak: 3
Matt Burke: 3
Robert Saleh: 2
Anthony Campanile: 2
Aaron Kromer: 1 https://t.co/BJjWLtK14V— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 6, 2026
Now that McDaniels has officially been named the ACOY, let’s look at why he got 7 more votes than second place and took home the award. Obviously, the Patriots are in the Super Bowl, so the coaches have to be good, but the stats are a great way to show just how good New England’s offense has been.
According to PFSN’s Offensive Impact Metric, the Patriots were the second-best offense in the league. They averaged the most yards per play (6.2), 4th most points per drive (2.6), 3rd best at avoiding third down (19.4%), and 5th best at converting on third/fourth down (46.2%).
Yes, having QB Drake Maye, who is also up for an award tonight, that being Most Valuable Player, but McDaniels has been able to put everything together and allow Maye to grow in the offense.
Although winning the award is a great start to the week’s NFL events, with the Patriots, the six-time Super Bowl-winning coach is on his way to another Super Bowl, hoping to win his seventh. We will know whether he gets that done on Sunday, but for now, the Patriots’ OC can celebrate a bit tonight.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
