LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Assuming our reporting on the Chicago Bears coaching situation is correct, if Vic Fangio isn’t a candidate to take over the club should John Fox be terminated, it stands to reason Ryan Pace would be looking for an offensive-minded guy since Fangio is one of the best defensive coaches in the game.

If, in fact, Pace does already have a list of potential candidates drawn up, he isn’t sharing it with us, but we have consulted with multiple sources around the league to put together our own target list of the best offensive-minded coaches in the league.

New England Patriots offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels – Year in and year out, the Patriots are one of the top offenses in the NFL, and a great deal of the credit goes to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but McDaniels oversees the offense, designs the game plans and calls the plays, many of which Brady doesn’t change.

Yes, McDaniels got a shot in Denver in 2009 at the age of 34 and was out in two years, but Belichick got his first break in Cleveland at 39 and failed there before becoming arguably the greatest NFL coach ever.

Word around the league is McDaniels has grown quite a bit and is now ready.