Josh McDaniels, New England Patriots
There isn't a play-caller in football who gets more out of an overachieving unit than McDaniels. While Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski give McDaniels a solid foundation to build around, the fact is, the Patriots don't have as many blue-chip weapons as many of their counterparts. This puts immense pressure on McDaniels to generate a game plan that uses a systematic approach to create opportunities for playmakers on the perimeter. He'll use a number of inverted formations (TE or RB flexed outside of the WR) from various personnel groupings to dictate coverage and discourage blitzes. Moreover, McDaniels will cleverly incorporate "tempo," unbalanced sets and quirky alignments to gain an edge on the perimeter. Factor in the Patriots' seamless transition into and out of power formations to bludgeon opponents between the tackles during the team's annual playoff pushes, and it's hard to dismiss McDaniels' offensive wizardry when examining his body of work. Granted, the case can be made that Brady is key to the unit's success, but the fact that Matt Cassel (in 2008) and Kyle Orton (in Denver in 2009) also played good football within McDaniels' system is a testament to his brilliance as a schemer.
