After interviewing for multiple head-coaching positions late last week and over the weekend, the New England Patriots’ coordinators have shifted their focus back to their team’s divisional-round playoff opponent, the Tennessee Titans.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels met with the Indianapolis Colts, New York Giants and Chicago Bears, while defensive coordinator Matt Patricia met with the Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions.
“I just obviously did what was allowed and have kind of refocused on moving into this week and getting ready for Tennessee,” McDaniels said Monday in a conference call. “I have no other information, and that’s about where it stands right now.”
McDaniels added he has “no idea” what the next step in his coaching career will be. His list of potential landing spots shrunk Monday when the Bears hired Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as their new head coach.
Patricia, meanwhile, reportedly is the favorite to land the Lions job, which remained unfilled as of midday Monday.
“It’s always a learning experience, like when I’ve been through it before,” Patricia said of the interviewing process. “You have an opportunity to learn about some other franchises and get a chance to talk about how they do things and really just kind of broaden your overall education of what the NFL and the different organizations are. So, it’s always a very informative process, and it’s interesting when you go through it.
“The good part about it is when it’s done, and you really just kind of flip your focus back to the task at hand. So, really, at that point, it was the three (potential divisional-round opponents), trying to prepare for who we were going to play. Obviously, it got narrowed down, and (now it’s) full steam ahead on Tennessee, trying to get ready to defend a very talented group.”
Patricia also sidestepped a question about his relationship with Lions general manager Bob Quinn, who spent 16 years in the Patriots’ scouting department before leaving for Detroit in 2016.
“(I have) relationships with guys throughout the entire league, and I obviously like to maintain my relationships to the best of my ability,” Patricia said. “But really, right now, my focus is on Tennessee and just trying to get ready for what we’ve got in front of us. That’s kind of my main thing right now.”
The Patriots will host the Titans, who knocked off the Chiefs in the wild-card round, on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
