BOSTON (WEEI.com) -- Even though there are three weeks left in the regular season, head-coaching rumors are already swirling, and New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is again at the center of them.
As of now, the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers jobs are open with several more coming as the season comes to a close.
ESPN's Adam Schefter noted even after what happened last year, when McDaniels backed out of an agreement with the Indianapolis Colts at the last minute, he's still at the top of most lists and he has earned the right to be very selective.
“If he wants one, he will get one," Schefter said on "Mut & Callahan" on Friday morning. "There is no doubt in my mind about that because we get on average seven head-coaching changes per year. We’ve already gotten two. We will get minimum, four or five more. There just will be. So the six, seven, eight openings, you tell me who the six, seven, eight coaches are that people are targeting, and last year when everybody hired all of these coaches, the majority of them were offensive-minded coaches. And the year before they were offensive-minded coaches. They are always offensive-minded coaches. If they are always offensive-minded coaches, who would be the top guy in that area? Josh McDaniels.
“So, that is why it was almost laughable last year when he decided to say no to Indianapolis — ‘he’ll never get a head-coaching job ever again’ — well, one year he has to wait until he’s a candidate again. That doesn’t mean he’s going to take one, either. We’ve seen how picky and selective he can be. He should be because he is going to be a candidate every year as long as Bill [Belichick> and Tom [Brady> are there and he’s thriving in the system and he’s demonstrating the work that he does. Unless he’s entirely comfortable with that situation, he is not going to jump unlike other coordinators and coaches who when they first get an opening they can’t wait to get a head-coaching job. Josh has proven he is going to be very patient with this and very picky to the point where some people think it is a detriment when it’s not. It’s just not.”
McDaniels has been a head coach before, but of course things didn't work out in Denver.