Submitted photo From left, grandson Jack McDaniels, son Josh McDaniels and Thom McDaniels following a game between the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots earlier this year.

As a coach, Thom McDaniels was always cool under pressure. His business-like demeanor on the sidelines was rarely tested, even in the brightest of spotlights.

McDaniels served as a head coach at Canton McKinley, Warren G. Harding and Massillon Jackson, compiling a 209-81 record. His McKinley resume includes seven playoff appearances, with two trips to the Division I state title game. The 1997 Bulldogs (14-0) won the Division I state championship, and were crowned the National Champions by USA Today.

While coaching in Warren (2000-06) McDaniels led the Raiders to a 63-21 record, including five trips to the postseason. In 2002 WGH (14-1) advanced to the Division I state title game.

Yet despite his knack for thriving under pressure, the hall of fame coach readily admitted he will “turn into a basket case” Sunday as he watches New England and Seattle play for football supremacy in Super Bowl LX.

“I suck as a spectator,” McDaniels said. “I’m awful. I have so much anxiety because I have zero input to any outcome.

“When you’re coaching, you prep and gameplan all week long, then on game day you are locked in and you’re involved in every aspect of the game. You actually have some input that can determine the outcome. It’s easy to stay focused on the task at hand. As a spectator, everything is out of your control. It’s nerve wracking.”

McDaniels’ anxiety is understandable. He’s not just a fan rooting for the Patriots. He’s a father cheering on and supporting his son.

McDaniels’ son, Josh, is New England’s offensive coordinator. Sunday will mark Josh’s 10th Super Bowl appearance as a coach.

Thom McDaniels, his wife Chris and other family members will be among the 70,000-plus spectators who will fill Levi Stadium to take in the NFL’s main event.

Sunday will mark the ninth time Thom McDaniels will be on hand to watch his son coach in the Super Bowl.

“I can’t quite bring myself to say that this is routine, because nothing is routine about appearing on football’s biggest stage,” Thom McDaniels said. “It’s just crazy to think that this is the 10th Super Bowl for Josh, and he’s not quite 50-years-old just yet.

“Watching this all play out from 2001 to now, it’s quite surreal.”

What isn’t surreal for Thom is the fact that Josh became a coach following his playing days. Josh McDaniels played at McKinley under his dad, then was a quarterback and wide receiver at John Carroll University.

While some coaches can spot a coach-in-the-making at the high school level, Thom says that Josh’s career path was set long before he even played his first organized game.

“When I came to Canton as an assistant in 1980, Josh was always by my side,” Thom McDaniels said. “He was 4 years old and he was never more than a few feet away from wherever I was during practices.

“Four years old, and Josh had to have a practice plan. He had to be wearing wristbands. He grew up on the practice field and in the locker room. He gained the exposure of seeing his dad having an awful lot of fun, and I think it had an impact. Early in middle school, even before truly being introduced to formalized football as a player, Josh knew for certain he wanted to be a coach. The NFL just happened, but being a coach was always in the making.”

Thanks in part to his dad’s help, Josh McDaniels began his coaching career in 1999 at Michigan State as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban. Saban and Thom McDaniels had previously formed a close connection, as Saban regularly recruited players from McKinley.

In 2001 then-Patriots coach Bill Belichick reached out to Saban, seeking an entry-level assistant to serve under Eric Mangini, who at the time was New England’s secondary coach. Saban recommended Josh McDaniels, and the rest is history.

“That year Bill (Belichick) had a larger plan when he put Josh on the defensive side,” Thom McDaniels said. “He knew that Josh would eventually coach the offense in some capacity, but he wanted Josh to first have a full understanding of the defense. Bill always has a plan.”

Josh McDaniels earned the first of his six Super Bowl rings in his first season at New England. For Thom McDaniels, it was the only time he didn’t attend a Super Bowl featuring his son.

“Josh’s first year at New England was my second year in Warren,” Thom McDaniels said. “As an entry-level coach, Josh was what they call a 20-20-20 coach in the NFL. A guy in his twenties, working twenty hours a day and earning $20,000 a year.

“Living in New England, Josh was barely making ends meet. I was helping him pay some bills. He couldn’t afford to get me to the Super Bowl, and I couldn’t afford to get there.

“I’m not a betting man, but if you told me 20 years ago that I’d now be making my ninth trip to the Super Bowl, I would have bet the under.”

Oddly enough, the anxiety level Thom McDaniels will experience Sunday may pale in comparison to what he encountered on Jan. 18 when New England hosted Houston in a Divisional Round playoff game.

Thom McDaniels’ younger son Ben is a wide receivers coach and offensive passing game coordinator for the Texans. Ben McDaniels just completed his fourth season with the Texans.

Thom and Chris, their grandchildren and the wives of Josh and Ben watched the game at Josh’s home as New England defeated Houston 28-16.

“We knew that at the end of the day four grandkids were going to be happy, three were going to be sad, or the other way around,” Thom McDaniels said. “We knew there was going to be a winner and a loser, and everyone had the right mindset. Ben handled the loss like a champion.

“There was high anxiety. In that situation I’m not rooting for a team, I’m rooting for Josh and Ben. It was just an odd situation for all of us. But as soon as the game ended, I just thought to myself, ‘We won.’ I think the entire family felt the same way.”

As for Sunday, Thom McDaniels’ only prediction is that, “the team that plays better that day will win.” While New England has been a surprise to many, Thom McDaniels said he noticed a “different vibe” during the early part of the season, which made him believe this could be a special year for the Patriots.

“This team plays like a group of guys that grew up together, and they’ve been playing together since they were in the sixth grade, and now they’re in high school,” Thom McDaniels said. “They are so excited and they’re having so much fun. They play with so much energy and emotion and they truly celebrate whoever makes the big play. My goodness, they all make a big deal about a gunner making a big tackle on a punt return. They recognize every teammate.

“That’s something you rarely see at this level. And they’ve been able to hang onto that all year. (Patriots head coach) Mike Vrabel deserves a ton of credit for ingesting that type of energy into this team.”

Thom McDaniels said he will follow his usual habit of arriving at the stadium two hours prior to kickoff. He likes to watch as the players make their initial trip out of the locker room, noting, “It probably means more to us than it does to them.” He said that Josh usually provides him with tidbits of information to look for during the course of the game.

“I like when he does that, because I feel like I have an assignment and the anxiety goes down significantly when I’m focused on my job at hand,” Thom McDaniels said with a laugh.

As for any last minute pieces of advice dad will pass along to his son?

“I have no words of wisdom, I used up my quota years ago,” Thom McDaniels said. “There’s very little I could say except to go out and coach them hard, have fun and call a good game.”

The Patriots and Seahawks will kick off at 6:30 p.m.