2015 NFL Coaching Search: Josh McDaniels Expected to Stay with Patriots

The week after coaching possibly the finest game in his career, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could have had his pick of teams looking at head coaching candidates.

Per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McDaniels is expected to return for another season with the Patriots.

The rules for interviewing playoff teams prevent McDaniels from receiving an offer prior to being eliminated from contention. Assistant coaches on teams that received first round byes were allowed to interview during the bye week, but cannot receive an offer.

This causes a sticky situation for candidates because 1) it means that the top coordinators on winning teams are at a starting date disadvantage when coachless teams want to hire replacements as soon as possible; 2) it means teams that want to hold out for the top candidates fall behind a week or two in the scouting process before the newly instated coaches can tell the general manager the type of players they desire.

Basically, if a team wants to break the cycle of always hiring recently deposed head coaches with .500 winning records or whatever recycled coordinator is on the market, and truly want an innovator in a leadership role, they're going to sacrifice a couple weeks of the draft and free agency process to secure a longer scope.

As for the Patriots, they'll likely have Josh McDaniels for another season. At that point, teams like the Bengals, Titans, Jaguars, Giants, Saints, and Panthers might be looking for new head coaches, and the Giants or Saints would be a perfect spot for the inventive coordinator.