Report: Patriots to interview tight ends coach Nick Caley for offensive coordinator position

The New England Patriots have started the interview process for their open offensive coordinator position, and the first candidate to enter the conversation is a familiar face. According to a report by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, tight ends coach Nick Caley will interview with the team on Wednesday.

Caley, 39, is regarded as the top in-house candidate to take over the vacant position.

The longest-tenured member of the club’s offensive coaching staff, he originally arrived as a coaching assistant in 2015. Two years later, Caley took over as tight ends coach — a position he has held ever since.

Despite his experience in the system, however, the team opted not to promote him following the departure of long-time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels last offseason. New England instead opted for a collaborative effort led by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, an experiment that did not yield the desired results and is now leading to changes being made.

One of those changes could be promoting Caley. With his contract expiring and him also previously interviewing for the New York Jets’ OC spot, however, such a move might be necessary to keep him in house.

Caley is the second coach officially linked to the Patriots’ offensive coordinator search. The other is Minnesota Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell; the team requested an interview with him on Wednesday.