The New England Patriots won't hire from within the organization to replace Matt Patricia, who is expected to take over as the new head coach of the Detroit Lions. According to Zach Barnett of Football Scoop, the Patriots are expected to hire Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano as a replacement for Patricia. Gary Tanguay of NBC Sports Boston said Schiano is scheduled to be interviewed this week. Schiano was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach from 2012-13 and recently completed his third year as Ohio State’s assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and safeties coach.
Schiano, Belichick are good friends
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Schiano are good friends, with the latter hanging out with the team a number of times after his Buccaneers stint. The news came as a surprise since it was expected that the Patriots would promote linebackers coach Brian Flores as defensive coordinator. As of now, the Patriots have no official decision on Schiano, who hasn’t decided whether he’s leaving Ohio State for the Patriots, per Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports 1.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has already lost one assistant to the NFL, with cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs joining Mike Vrabel’s staff with the Tennessee Titans. In preparation for Schiano’s departure, the Buckeyes hired Washington State defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, but his duties with the team are still unknown.
Patricia is expected to leave the Patriots, the only team that he worked for in the NFL before the Lions decided to bring him in as a replacement for Jim Caldwell, who was fired after Detroit missed the playoffs.
Josh McDaniels won’t leave Patriots?
While Patricia is set on leaving New England, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is reportedly having second thoughts about leaving the Patriots and accepting the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job.
Pro Football Talk reported that McDaniels might decide not to leave Belichick, adding that he has not told the Patriots that he accept the job opening with the Colts. When asked after their 41-33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII, McDaniels refused to discuss the report. “I am not going to talk about that tonight,” McDaniels said.
“I'm not going to talk about that.” Earlier, it was reported that McDaniels would become the replacement for Chuck Pagano in Indianapolis. McDaniels even had a second interview with the Colts and has already reached out to potential assistant coaches.
