Another offseason is approaching for the Patriots, which means it’s time to speculate whether Josh McDaniels will leave New England.
McDaniels, who’s spent all but three of his 21-year NFL coaching career in Foxboro, could once again yield interest around the league as more head coaching vacancies are created. The 45-year-old is in a great situation with the Patriots, so it probably would take a golden opportunity for McDaniels to leave Bill Belichick’s staff.
What team(s) potentially could pique McDaniels’ interest? NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport provided his read on the matter during a recent appearance on WEEI’s “Gresh & Keefe.”
“Would he go to a place that already has a GM? I would have my doubts there,” Rapoport said, as transcribed by WEEI. “If he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it his way. He’s going to do it properly. He’s going to do it with the right structure and personnel. I would imagine he’d go to a place where there’s not a current GM in place. The Raiders would make some sense. We’ll see what happens with the Vikings.”
As of Sunday morning, only two teams were without a head coach: the Jaguars and the Broncos. General manager Trent Baalke appears to be heavily involved in the organization’s search, so we probably can cross the Jags off McDaniels’ hypothetical list. The same likely can be said for Denver, where McDaniels already tried and failed.
It’s anyone’s guess if McDaniels has interest in the Bears, who very likely will move on from Matt Nagy in due time. But McDaniels’ colleague, Jerod Mayo, reportedly will be in the mix in Chicago.
