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Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is under consideration for three head coaching jobs, with the Panthers, Giants, and Browns. And for the first time since he returned to New England after a failed tenure in Denver and a short-term stint with the Rams, McDaniels is available to be hired less than one week into the cycle.

Like they were two years ago, the Patriots are bracing for McDaniels to leave, if he gets an offer.

In early 2018, the Patriots were bracing for McDaniels to leave for the Colts. He told the Colts he’d take the job, but then McDaniels changed his mind and stayed. This time, any verbal acceptance can quickly be followed by a signed contract, preventing second thoughts or a last-ditch effort by the Patriots to change his mind.

It’s unclear whether McDaniels will get an offer. He wouldn’t get the keys to the car in New York, and Browns chief strategy officer Paul DePodesta is a potential impediment to McDaniels running the show in Cleveland. It remains to be seen whether Carolina owner David Tepper would let his coach call the shots.

Regardless of whether McDaniels has the kind of control he had in Denver, the Patriots believe that an offer to coach elsewhere will finally result in McDaniels leaving New England, again.