Patriots Rumors: Josh McDaniels Now ‘Likely’ To Return To New England

Josh McDaniels might stay with the New England Patriots, after all.

The offensive coordinator has been one of the hottest names on the NFL head coaching carousel, with various reports tying him to vacancies both with the Cleveland Browns and the Green Bay Packers. And over the weekend, reports indicated New England was “preparing” for life without McDaniels, with USC offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury as a possible replacement.

However, everything changed Monday night, when the Packers reportedly hired Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur as their next head coach. As a result, McDaniels now is “likely” to return to the Patriots, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

Of course, the door hasn’t completely closed on McDaniels taking the Browns job. While Rapoport says the 42-year-old hasn’t interviewed with Cleveland, other reports suggest that McDaniels, an Ohio native, would jump at the chance to coach in his home state.

But the Browns reportedly are targeting other candidates, most notably ex-Packers head coach Mike McCarthy. And should he, or anyone else, take the job, then McDaniels almost certainly would return for another season under Bill Belichick.

Whether he prefers that outcome is another story altogether.