Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wants to set the record straight.
Yes, he is interested in becoming an NFL head coach again someday. No, he is not planning on navigating a way to be Bill Belichick's successor in New England.
Those nuggets filtered out of his Tuesday press conference with beat reporters, according to the Boston Herald. McDaniels cited recent reports about him outlasting Belichick and taking over and called them "unfounded."
"I definitely would love to be a head coach again," he said, via CSN New England.
As we've noted in each of our last three head coaching list updates -- all of which have McDaniels No. 1 -- he is waiting for the right opportunity to pop up, which is why he has yet to leave the cozy confines of Gillette Stadium for a second time. Our lists can be found here (pre-season), here (quarter-season) and here (mid-season).
While it is not productive or fair to speculate on such openings at this point, one would have to assume that the quarterback, general manager and owner are all sympatico. McDaniels does not want a situation like Denver where he was motivated to burn himself out after a short time. In his next gig, he would like to delegate comfortably.
Teams can create a Patriots-like atmosphere elsewhere so long as ownership is on board, which is why McDaniels doesn't need the real thing. New England's inevitable Super Bowl push could complicate the interviewing schedule like it always seems to do, but if the right job is out there, don't be surprised if he goes out of his way to attend a meeting or two with prospective employers.
