With Mike McCarthy out for the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, a new question will orbit the franchise for the next month or two: Could New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels be the next man in?

A handful of NFL assistant coaches have indicated interest in joining a McDaniels-led coaching staff in Green Bay, according to sources who spoke to Yahoo Sports on Sunday. So much so that at least one has pulled his name from consideration for a college coordinator position. While such a development doesn’t guarantee mutual interest between the Packers and McDaniels, it is an indication the Patriots assistant is maintaining a list of staff candidates if he chooses to depart New England.

It remains to be seen whether the Packers would entertain a McDaniels pursuit, something that seemed unthinkable less than 10 months ago after McDaniels agreed to and then reneged on a commitment to take over the Indianapolis Colts. But league sources told Yahoo Sports as far back as last summer that McDaniels didn’t consider himself to be “burned” when it came to future head-coaching opportunities. An opinion that likely buoyed when he signed with Athletes First, which has a number of coaches as clients (including the now-fired McCarthy).

View photos It’s hard to forget that Josh McDaniels burned the Colts earlier this year, but his offensive mind is still respected in the NFL. (AP) More

Whether McDaniels is a viable candidate for any job – let alone the Packers – depends on who you ask. From the camp of McDaniels supporters, there have been a wide array of backstories about why he spurned the Colts at the 11th hour. They have ranged from family considerations to concern about Andrew Luck’s then-undetermined health to the Patriots simply making an open-the-books pitch he couldn’t refuse. All of these reasons have been laid out at various times, largely off the record, likely in hopes that McDaniels’ long-term viability could be salvaged.

Whatever the reasoning for McDaniels’ decision, several of his key supporters who were working in the background in support of his reputation left the Colts decision feeling scalded by his waffling. His agent at the time, Bob LaMonte, cut ties with him amid the fallout. Others who lobbied in his favor with Colts general manager Chris Ballard privately vowed they wouldn’t advocate for McDaniels in the future. None of that matched the tattooing he took in the media (including from me) – which left his head-coaching career dead and buried with the decision.

But by the summer of 2018, there was already a sense around McDaniels that another chance may come. Those close to him relayed his confidence that his head-coaching window wasn’t slammed shut forever. At the time, it sounded like someone who lacked the self-awareness to understand his own reputation. But sources around the league weren’t resolute about his demise, either.

As one league executive told Yahoo Sports of McDaniels during training camp, “He’s still a young offensive coach who is extremely smart and creative, and that’s something everyone wants now. When the next [hiring cycle] comes, nobody will really care what he did to the Colts if they think they need him. Especially if there aren’t a lot of good guys to choose from.”

That’s one part of this that is discounted right now. As it stands, there appears to be a dearth of quality candidates who are young, experienced and have a track record of creative offensive success. At the moment, there is no obvious Sean McVay or Matt Nagy to be had in this next wave of candidates. It’s part of why Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and former Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury are perceived to be hot commodities despite a lack of NFL coaching experience. Both have experience running wide-open schemes that have recently contributed to stretching the boundaries of NFL offenses with the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield.

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