Josh McDaniels abruptly fading as Raiders coach candidate?

Josh McDaniels appeared to be a leading candidate for the Las Vegas Raiders head coach position, but that has reportedly changed quite quickly.

On Tuesday, rumors began to surface that the Raiders were interested in bringing McDaniels and Dave Ziegler over from the New England Patriots in a package deal as head coach and general manager. There was “strong buzz” around this scenario, according to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, and it looked like a legitimate possibility. Tafur added that things were serious enough that McDaniels had begun making exploratory calls about putting together a coaching staff.

On Wednesday, however, things changed quickly. Chatter about McDaniels and Ziegler going to the Raiders faded quickly within the last 24 hours, according to Tafur. League sources could not give a reason, but speculated that disagreements about power structure or compensation could have been issues.

The Raiders continue to interview candidates for their GM job and reportedly requested permission to speak to another on Wednesday. The Raiders also interviewed Jerod Mayo, another head coach candidate with Patriots ties.

While it’s unclear how close McDaniels was to actually getting the Raiders job, there was apparently something to the rumors at some point. That appears to have changed, and the door is wide open again. Expect speculation about a high-profile coach to resurface as a result.