Nothing is set in stone yet, but from the looks of it, both offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will leave the New England Patriots and will take on the challenge of being head coaches. It was reported that McDaniels will accept the head coaching job with the Indianapolis Colts, replacing the fired Chuck Pagano. Patricia, for his part, will take on the post vacated by Jim Caldwell, who was fired by the Detroit Lions after they missed the playoffs.

Both coaches cannot officially take over until the Patriots’ season ends. The Patriots are set to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

McDaniels to Colts, Patricia to Lions

Picking the Colts is a no-brainer for McDaniels as he enjoys a good relationship with general manager Chris Ballard. McDaniels will also have a dependable starting quarterback in Andrew Luck, if he returns healthy next season. In addition to the Colts, the New York Giants, Chicago Bears and the Tennessee Titans expressed interest in McDaniels. When asked about the possibility of McDaniels leaving the team, veteran quarterback Tom Brady said he has no idea because he hasn’t talked to his offensive coordinator about it.

Also, McDaniels hasn’t opened up to Brady about the possibility of accepting a head coaching job after this season.

In Monday’s conference call, Patricia did not confirm or deny reports that he is set to become the Lions’ next coach: “I went through the process that the NFL allows us to go through and during the bye week I was able to have the opportunity to talk to a couple of teams,” said Patricia. The defensive coordinator added that he’s currently focused on helping the Patriots beat the Jaguars in the AFC Championship Game.

Potential replacements

If the Patriots decide to hire within the organization, the top candidate will be wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea, who has held that position since 2009.

Patriots quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski is viewed highly in the organization and could be in the mix for the offensive coordinator job. As for outside options, the Patriots looked at Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, but he was hired by the Buffalo Bills as their offensive coordinator over the weekend.

Possible replacements for Patricia include linebackers coach Brian Flores, if he decides to stick with the Patriots. Flores is also a top candidate for the Arizona Cardinals’ head coaching job. The Patriots could also hire Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, who is also raring to return to the NFL and has a good relationship with head coach Bill Belichick. Another option for Belichick is to keep the defensive coordinator position vacant, which he did before he named Patricia in 2012.