Browns, Panthers, Giants request head coaching interviews with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels

Update 12/30/2019: Panthers and Giants also request interviews with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, two more teams have asked the Patriots to grant permission to interview offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels: the Carolina Panthers, as was expected, and the New York Giants. While Carolina’s head coaching position has been open since the team fired Ron Rivera in early December, New York’s became vacant on Monday when the organization parted ways with Pat Shurmur after only two seasons.

Original story: Browns request interview with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels; Panthers also interested

The NFL’s regular season is officially in the books, which means that the league is now a two-class society: while 12 teams are starting preparations for the upcoming playoff tournament, 20 are already on to the next year — a group that includes three clubs that recently parted ways with their head coaches: the Washington Redskins, the Carolina Panthers, and the Cleveland Browns all presently have vacancies atop their coaching staffs.

One popular candidate to fill them plus any additional openings should they come along — see: Dallas Cowboys — is once again New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. In fact, two teams have already expressed interest in the veteran assistant coach: as first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Browns have asked the Patriots for permission to interview McDaniels with the Panthers also expected to do just that.

The 43-year-old has been the Patriots’ offensive play caller and quarterbacks coach for 11 of the last 14 seasons: he was first promoted to the role in 2006, before re-joining the club in the same position in 2012 after a three-year stint with the Denver Broncos and then-St. Louis Rams. Since his return, McDaniels has led one of the most prolific and consistent units in the league — one that helped New England win three Super Bowls over the last five years.

As a result, he has become one of the most popular head coaching candidates in the league. Just last year, the Indianapolis Colts came close to hiring him before he eventually returned to the Patriots after all. Now the Browns and likely the Panthers as well will try to do what the Colts could not: to lure McDaniels away from New England and give him his first head coaching opportunity after he was fired by the Broncos in 2010.