David Zalubowski/AP
- The New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia are among the NFL's top head-coaching candidates this offseason.
- Both coaches have received interview requests from teams looking for head coaches, and some in the NFL world believe they are bound to leave the Patriots.
- Losing two top coordinators with impressive resumes would hurt the Patriots.
Several NFL head coaching jobs opened up almost as soon as the NFL regular season ended, and it's looking more and more like at least one of those jobs will be filled by a current New England Patriots coach.
According to several reports, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia are perhaps the two most valued head-coaching candidates this offseason.
Some of that prestige comes from simply working with the Patriots, but both coaches are impressive in their own right. McDaniels was a head coach for the Denver Broncos for nearly two seasons and has since worked with Tom Brady and kept the Patriots among the NFL's most elite offenses.
And while Patricia's work with the Patriots defense has been slightly less impressive, he has still climbed the team ranks quickly and impressed people who have talked to him. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that some teams think Patricia could excel as a GM.
"Last year when he interviewed with teams, they said he was smart enough to be a general manager," Schefter said (via CBS's Will Brinson). "He looks destined to leave New England at this point in time."
While ESPN's NFL insiders ranked McDaniels as a more intriguing coaching candidate than Patricia, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport told WEEI that he thinks both men will leave New England this offseason.
Schefter reported that the New York Giants have reached out to the Patriots about talking to both McDaniels and Patricia about their head coaching position. Various reports have also linked McDaniels to the Indianapolis Colts opening where he could work with Andrew Luck and Patricia to the Detroit Lions opening where he could work with a young and improving defense on the cusp of postseason contention.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears both have openings, and the Oakland Raiders would be a top coaching destination if for some reason their deal with Jon Gruden falls through.
McDaniels and Patricia both interviewed for positions last season, but ultimately stayed with New England. To date, both coaches have been choosy about openings they would pursue. However, with several positions opening up this season, both of them may be able to find positions of interest.
Losing one, let alone both, of McDaniels or Patricia would hurt the Patriots. Though Bill Belichick and the team have a history of grooming assistants into higher positions, losing two coordinators in the same offseason would likely leave them considering outside candidates to help fill the positions.