Raiders request interview with Patriots OC Josh McDaniels for HC opening

The only team connected to Josh McDaniels during this year’s head-coaching hiring period, the Raiders are interested in speaking with the longtime Patriots offensive coordinator.

They sent McDaniels an interview request Thursday, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. The notoriously choosey HC candidate is expected to interview, per Schefter. The Raiders already interviewed Patriots exec Dave Ziegler, who also worked with McDaniels in Denver, and appear to still be considering a Patriots West ticket. McDaniels has been on Mark Davis‘ radar for weeks, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.

While a Wednesday report indicated the Raiders were moving away from a Ziegler-McDaniels pairing, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo notes that league buzz still points to McDaniels being a preferred option in Las Vegas. This would certainly be an interesting direction to go, given McDaniels’ past and Raider players’ endorsements for interim HC Rich Bisaccia to keep the job.

But McDaniels does have an extensive OC resume, collecting three Super Bowl rings during his time working with Tom Brady in New England. Of course, his rough tenure as Broncos HC and decision to spurn the Colts affected his standing within the league. In terms of high-level experience, however, almost no one in this cycle can match McDaniels.

In his 10th year back in charge of the Patriots offense, McDaniels helped the fifth quarterback picked in last year’s draft — Mac Jones — have the best season among the 2021 rookie signal-callers. Despite his controversial Colts decision four years ago, the 45-year-old assistant comes up in coaching rumors annually. The two-time Patriots OC has been picky on the interview front, and given his Denver tenure and Indianapolis decision, his next HC job might be his last.

Here is how the Raiders’ HC search is shaping up thus far:

• Rich Bisaccia, interim head coach (Raiders): Interviewed Jan. 19
• Todd Bowles, defensive coordinator (Buccaneers): To interview Jan. 28
• Jim Harbaugh, former head coach (49ers): Mentioned as candidate; early front-runner?
• Jerod Mayo, linebackers coach (Patriots): Interviewed Jan. 25
• Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator (Patriots): Interview requested
• DeMeco Ryans, defensive coordinator (49ers): Interview expected