During the New England Patriots' bye week, both offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia were interviewed by different teams interested in their services as head coach. The Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants interviewed McDaniels, while Patricia was interviewed by the Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, and the Giants.

Now that the Bears have hired Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy as head coach, McDaniels’ options have narrowed down to two teams while three teams will ponder if Patricia is the right man for the job. The Lions are reportedly serious about hiring Patricia as a replacement for Jim Caldwell, who was fired after they missed the playoffs despite a 9-7 record.

Patricia, McDaniels discuss interview process

During a conference call, Patricia and McDaniels both discussed the interview process. According to Patricia, the interview process is a learning experience about how other franchises run their respective organization.

“So, it’s always a very informative process. It’s interesting when you go through it,” said Patricia. After the interviews, the defensive coordinator said he has shifted his focus on the task at hand, which is to prepare for their divisional round showdown with the dangerous Tennessee Titans, who pulled off a 22-21 upset win over the Chiefs in the wild-card game. Patricia called the Titans a very talented group that is very hard to defend so there’s a need to put all the focus in preparing for them. As for McDaniels, he has no idea what’s next for him, however, McDaniels said it will not distract him from their preparation for the Titans, whom they will play Saturday at Gillette Stadium.

Bears hire new head coach

After interviewing several candidates, the Bears hired Nagy as a replacement for John Fox, who was dismissed after a disappointing three-year stint with the team. The Bears made the move one day after interviewing Nagy on Sunday after the Chiefs were eliminated by the Titans. Aside from the Bears, the Colts also interviewed Nagy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider. The 39-year-old Nagy spent his entire coaching career working for Andy Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chiefs. He began his NFL stint as an intern with the Eagles in 2008 before he was promoted to assistant in 2010 and quality control coach in 2011. When Reid signed with the Chiefs, he was hired as the quarterbacks coach in 2013 and became the offensive coordinator in 2016.