FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – It’s official. Josh McDaniels will return to the New England Patriots as an offensive assistant this week, and will serve under Bill O’Brien, the offensive coordinator who was named coach at Penn State on Saturday.

The Patriots made the announcement Sunday night.

O’Brien, introduced in State College, Pa., over the weekend, was due to fly back to Massachusetts on Sunday night, so he and McDaniels can plan for the Denver Broncos in the AFC divisional round. The Patriots, the AFC’s No. 1 seed, had a bye this weekend.

McDaniels, 35, worked for New England from 2001-08, including three seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was the head coach of the Broncos from 2009-10 before becoming the offensive coordinator in St. Louis this season.

Once O’Brien’s tenure officially ends in Foxborough, McDaniels will again become the offensive coordinator for the Patriots.

A native of Barberton, Ohio, McDaniels will go from near the bottom of the NFL after spending the season with the Rams (2-14), to a shot at the Super Bowl with a team that has a 13-3 record.

Interestingly enough, McDaniels’ first game back in New England will be against the team that gave him his biggest chance in the NFL. But the Broncos, who drafted quarterback Tim Tebow during McDaniels’ tenure, went in another direction after McDaniels lost 17 of his last 22 games.

McDaniels was the only Rams assistant under contract through next season when former head coach Steve Spagnuolo was fired last week.