Football
- Title:
- Quarterbacks Coach
Ben McDaniels is in his second season coaching the quarterbacks at Michigan after being announced to the position on February 5, 2019. McDaniels was the Wolverines’ wide receivers coach for the 2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl after serving as an offensive analyst during the regular season. This is his 17th year in coaching, and his experience includes four years at the high school level, seven years at the college level and six years in the NFL.
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Under McDaniels in 2019, quarterback Shea Patterson became the third-ever Wolverine to throw for 3,000 yards in a single season (3,061 yards, second-highest single-season total at U-M). Patterson closed his career as the school's all-time leader in yards per game (217.7), ranking second in interception percentage (2.12), tied-second in 200-yard pass games (nine), and fifth in efficiency rating (143.1). He threw 22 touchdowns in 2019, including five at Indiana, which marked the most in a regular-season game at U-M. That passing touch helped the Wolverines average 35.7 points per game over the last six weeks of the season. Patterson threw for 1,055 yards in a three-game stretch, the most by any quarterback in program history, and the 384 yards he passed for against Michigan State were the third-most in a single game by any quarterback at Michigan.
McDaniels came to Ann Arbor after a two-year stint with the Chicago Bears, where he served as an offensive assistant under coach John Fox. While with the Bears, McDaniels worked with the wide receivers during his first season in 2016 and helped mentor the tight ends in 2017.
Prior to his time in Chicago, McDaniels was part of the Rutgers staff for two seasons, serving in the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2015) and wide receivers coach (2014). The Scarlet Knights ranked sixth nationally in passing yards per completion in 2014 as wide receiver Leonte Caroo totaled 1,086 receiving yards and a program record-tying 10 touchdowns, a total Caroo equaled in 2015. Caroo finished as the school’s career leader in receiving touchdowns (29) and finished third in yards (2,373). His 12 100-yard receiving games are second all-time in Rutgers history.
Before coaching at Rutgers, McDaniels spent the 2012-13 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an offensive assistant. The team set franchise records in passing yards, total yards, and points scored while he was part of the coaching staff, headlined by 2013 NFC Pro Bowlers Vincent Jackson and Doug Martin. He also helped oversee the development of rookie quarterback Mike Glennon, who was chosen as Pro Football Writers of America All-Rookie selection. Glennon set franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns by a rookie quarterback, and his 82.0 passer rating was tops among first-year signal-callers in the NFL.
The previous two seasons, McDaniels was in Denver as an offensive assistant (2009) and quarterbacks coach (2010). McDaniels helped direct the NFL's seventh-ranked passing offense as quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Tim Tebow combined for 4,307 passing yards and 25 touchdowns, in addition to another six rushing scores from Tebow.
McDaniels rose in the high school ranks, beginning his coaching career in 2003 as the wide receivers coach at Warren G. Harding High School. McDaniels worked with his father, Thom McDaniels, who was the 1997 USA Today National Coach of the Year and is a member of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
He then spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Minnesota (2004-05) while earning his master's degree in sport management before returning to the Ohio high school coaching circuit. While at Minnesota, McDaniels worked under head coach Glen Mason, instructing the wide receivers in 2004 and the defensive backs in 2005. The Golden Gophers amassed a 14-10 record during his two-year stretch, earning berths in the Music City Bowl both seasons.
He coached quarterbacks at his old high school, Canton McKinley, for two seasons (2006-07) and then worked at Jackson High School during the fall of 2008, before landing his first NFL position.
A native of Canton, Ohio, McDaniels led Canton McKinley to a 37-3 record and two state championships in his three years as a starting quarterback. He went on to play quarterback at Kent State University from 1999-2001, earning his bachelor's degree in sport management.
He and his wife, Kyle, live in Ann Arbor with their two children, daughter, Kinley, and son, Brooks.
COACHING EXPERIENCE
| Year | Team | Position |
| 2003 | Warren G. Harding High School | Assistant Coach |
| 2004-05 | Minnesota | Graduate Assistant Coach |
| 2006-07 | Canton McKinley High School | Assistant Coach |
| 2008 | Jackson High School | Assistant Coach |
| 2009 | Denver Broncos | Offensive Assistant |
| 2010 | Denver Broncos | Quarterbacks |
| 2012-13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Offensive Assistant |
| 2014 | Rutgers | Wide Receivers |
| 2015 | Rutgers | Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks |
| 2016-17 | Chicago Bears | Offensive Assistant |
| 2018 | Michigan | Offensive Analyst |
| 2019 | Michigan | Quarterbacks |
THE McDANIELS FILE
Hometown: Canton, Ohio
High School: Canton McKinley
College: Kent State University (2003)
Wife: Kyle
Children: Kinley, Brooks
