If Josh McDaniels leaves for a head-coaching gig this offseason, the New England Patriots would need a new offensive coordinator.
A very intriguing candidate just hit the open market.
The Miami Dolphins fired offensive coordinator Chad O’Shea on Monday, according to a report from NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo. The team confirmed the firing Monday afternoon.
The move came one day after Miami stunned the Patriots 27-24 at Gillette Stadium to close out Brian Flores’ first year as head coach.
O’Shea, who followed Flores to Miami last winter, led a patchwork Dolphins offense that ranked 27th in yards and 25th in scoring but surged down the stretch, averaging 27.8 points per game over the final six weeks of the regular season.
Before joining the Dolphins, O’Shea spent 10 seasons as the Patriots’ wide receivers coach, serving in that role from 2009 through the 2018 season and winning three Super Bowls. He also crafted the Patriots’ red-zone offense and would be a natural candidate to replace McDaniels if the latter opts to leave New England.
The Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers reportedly have requested permission to interview McDaniels for their head-coaching vacancies. The Patriots, who will host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday night in the wild-card round, do not have an obvious OC-in-waiting on staff.
Joe Judge took over for O’Shea as receivers coach this season while still serving as the Patriots’ special teams coordinator. He likely would be the top internal option. Longtime assistants Ivan Fears and Dante Scarnecchia coach running backs and offensive line, respectively, with Nick Caley handling tight ends and Mick Lombardi assisting McDaniels with quarterbacks.
