The word on the street is that Josh McDaniels is open to potential head coach opportunities. And there's a chance his dream job may open up soon.

Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat after Thursday night's loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which dropped his club to 4-5-1. If the Packers miss the playoffs, there's a very real chance McCarthy loses his job -- which is where McDaniels comes in.

During an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Toucher & Rich" on Friday, the MMQB's Albert Breer laid out why the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator could be on Green Bay's shortlist of potential McCarthy replacements.

"Two years ago, Josh McDaniels was in the (San Francisco 49ers') coaching search until the very end," Breer said. "And one of the things the Niners were looking at was pairing different people together. When Josh McDaniels was in the running for that Niners job ... the guy who at the time had emerged as the front-runner for the general manager job ... and who had blown the Niners away was a Packers personnel man named Brian Gutekunst, who now is the (Packers') general manager. So, they've done their homework on each other."

Breer also noted the Packers aren't afraid to "look outside the box" in their coaching search and wouldn't be concerned about any negative press surrounding McDaniels, who infamously spurned the Indianapolis Colts for their head coach job last offseason.

As for why McDaniels would be interested in the Green Bay gig? That's a no-brainer, Breer says.

"You've got Aaron Rodgers at 35 years old, and you've got this nice, long runway to find the next (quarterback), too," Breer said. "(Rodgers) is not close to being done. If I'm (McDaniels), I've got Aaron Rodgers to compete with for the next four or five years, and I've got a long runway to find the next guy, too, which I think is a real positive."

When you add in the rich tradition of the Packers' franchise, a strong personnel department and the luxury of not having to answer to an owner -- Green Bay is the NFL's only publicly-owned franchise -- that opening may be hard for McDaniels to pass up. (Oh, and he'd also get to compete against former Patriots colleague and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia twice a year.)

The Patriots did just make McDaniels the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL with a new five-year contract, so it would take a lot for him to leave New England. If the Packers part with McCarthy, though, Patriots fans should monitor their head coach search closely.

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