The ink didn’t even dry on the walking papers Chip Kelly was handed Sunday evening before a report came out regarding a potential replacement for the now former San Francisco 49ers head coach.
According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, the 49ers are among three teams that have already reached out to New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Things getting started … Rams, Jaguars, 49ers have reached out to show interest in Patriots OC Josh McDaniels.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 2, 2017
This shouldn’t necessarily be considered a surprise. Based primarily on what he’s done with the Patriots’ offense since rejoining the team back in 2012, McDaniels will be a hot commodity on the coaching market.
He’s led a top-five scoring offense that has been without Rob Gronkowski for the majority of the season and found itself playing inexperienced backups in lieu of a suspended Tom Brady for the first four games.
As it relates to the 49ers, this is surely a sign that the team is looking for an offensive-minded head coach after the Chip Kelly experiment failed in just one season. It remains to be seen whether McDaniels would be interested in joining an organization that’s now become a laughingstock.
But one thing is clear: McDaniels will more than likely get his second head coaching job after failing with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010.