Report: Patriots to interview Vikings assistant Keenan McCardell for offensive coordinator job

Update 1/18/2023: Report: Patriots to interview Vikings assistant Keenan McCardell for offensive coordinator job

It did not take long for the New England Patriots to get permission to interview Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell for their vacant offensive coordinator position. According to a report by CBS Sports’ Josina Anderson, McCardell will interview for the job on Thursday.

Original story 1/18/2023: Report: Patriots request to interview Vikings assistant Keenan McCardell for offensive coordinator job

The New England Patriots announced last week that they would soon start the interview process to find a new offensive coordinator. Now, the first name has dropped: the team has requested to interview Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell for the open position, according to a report by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

McCardell, 53, is a former wide receiver who also spent time playing under Patriots head coach Bill Belichick when he was still with the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s. He has since transitioned to coaching, starting his career in Washington before stops at the University of Maryland and in Jacksonville.

In 2021, McCardell arrived in Minnesota. Despite the team changing head coaches after his first season, he was kept on Kevin O’Connell’s staff through the transition. It is not hard to see why given that he helped develop, among others, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

McCardell has a solid résumé, and has now also landed on the Patriots’ radar.

He is the first name from the team’s list of offensive coordinator candidates to emerge. That list is also expected to include Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and New England’s own tight ends coach, Nick Caley.