FOXBORO — If the Patriots unleash a pair of competent offensive performances in the next 11 days, Josh McDaniels will be on plenty of short lists as teams search to fill coaching vacancies this winter.

And if the Pats continue to flourish, general managers should be tumbling over each other in a rush to deliver contract offers to McDaniels, who has helped develop Jimmy Garoppolo into a brilliant quarterback and now has a chance to work his magic with third-stringer Jacoby Brissett.

McDaniels has admitted on multiple occasions that he’d like another shot to be a head coach, most recently in July when he said he’d “look forward to the challenge of doing it again.” After not taking any interviews last offseason, despite at least one request from the Dolphins, McDaniels might be eying his best opportunity to seize control of a new team after this season.

Garoppolo’s performance through two weeks has proven McDaniels deserves a second shot. Brissett’s first career start tomorrow night could hammer home that point, considering the degree of difficulty in readying a rookie with three days of preparation. Brissett laid a nice foundation Sunday against the Dolphins by completing 6-of-9 passes for 92 yards and using his legs for three first-down conversions, which was overly impressive considering the Patriots devoted their entire offseason to Tom Brady and Garoppolo.

Don’t think teams like the Bills, Colts, Jaguars, Chargers, Lions and Bears aren’t noticing. They might all be searching for new head coaches in January if they don’t make the playoffs, and the Lions have a strong connection with general manager Bob Quinn, who worked for the Pats from 2000-15. Eventually, a team will give McDaniels an opportunity to show whether he is better than the 11-17 record that got him fired from the Broncos (2009-10).

McDaniels interviewed with the Browns in 2014 and the 49ers and Falcons in 2015 before all three teams hired defensive-minded coaches. It’s been speculated McDaniels might prefer a chance to lead the Browns or Giants, but neither showed any interest before hiring new coaches last January. And while it’s possible McDaniels might love the opportunity to take the reins from Bill Belichick, it’s possible the legend doesn’t even know when he’ll retire.

So this is a vital stretch, and McDaniels has left his stamp on the Patriots offense by proving he can do it without Brady. It’s one thing to develop a quarterback for two seasons under minimal pressure while he backs up an all-time great, but it’s a whole different challenge for McDaniels to prove he can accelerate Brissett’s learning curve under these circumstances. If McDaniels can get a win out of Brissett tomorrow or somehow manufacture another one next week either with the rookie or a wounded Garoppolo, there’d be no more impressive stretch from an NFL offensive coordinator all season.

“The thing that makes it tough playing (the Patriots) is Josh,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said last week. “It’s hard. I wish I could go in there and say, ‘Hey, this is what he’s going to do,’ but Josh, that’s what he does. He evolves.”

With Garoppolo and Brissett, the Patriots are ranked fifth in yards (414 per game) and tied for 12th in points (27 per game) through two weeks. Garoppolo has been outstanding by completing 70 percent of his passes for 498 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions (117.2 passer rating), and he is 14-of-17 for 197 yards and two scores (154.2 rating) on third down.

Garoppolo’s execution has made McDaniels look good, but the coordinator’s game plans also have aided the young quarterback’s success, such as some creativity in the running game and various passing looks to help a pieced-together offensive line.

Amid chaos at the most important position on the field, McDaniels has been the backbone to keep the operation as stable as possible.

“He’s been pretty consistent since the day I met him in St. Louis,” said wide receiver Danny Amendola, who also played for McDaniels with the Rams. “He gets his offensive group really excited to play for him. Just consistently coming up with good ideas and plans to play each week, he really motivates our squad to stay on top of our preparation and get our guys to play hard.”

McDaniels won’t make any drastic alterations to the offense this week. The consistency with which he has operated continues to be important to the Patriots’ offensive success, and if that keeps up, it’d be a surprise if he didn’t get another crack at a head coaching gig.