Keeping track of Patriots offensive coordinator candidates
FOXBORO -- Changes are coming on the New England coaching staff. After a disappointing and frustrating season for the Patriots' offense in 2022, the team is on a mission to find a new offensive coordinator.
Things did not work out very well with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge running the show in an 8-9 campaign, as Mac Jones regressed in his second season and the offense consistently struggled to put up points. In a shocking move, the Patriots released a statement a few days after their season came to an end to announce that they were on the hunt for an actual offensive coordinator.
The candidates have been coming fast and furious over the last few days, whether they've interviewed, have an interview scheduled, or are just part of the rumor mill.
Here's a quick rundown of everyone who has been connected to New England's opening at offensive coordinator -- so far.
Bill O'Brien
We've heard about a potential return to New England for O'Brien since the start of last season, and now the Dorchester native is reportedly the front-runner to get the OC job. He held the position (along with QB coach) in 2011, after serving as an offensive assistant (2007), wide receivers coach (2008), and quarterbacks coach (2009-10) on Bill Belichick's staff.
O'Brien left New England for the head coaching position at Penn State, and after leading the Nittany Lions to a 15-9 record over two seasons, he returned to the NFL as head coach of the Houston Texans. The Texans won the AFC South four times in O'Brien's six full seasons at the helm, but they never made it out of the Divisional Round. He was fired after an 0-4 start in 2020, finishing 52-48 as the team's head coach.
He then landed on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
While O'Brien's name has come up roughly a million times in connection to New England's OC job, there hasn't been any formal interview set up. In fact, O'Brien is still recruiting for Alabama at the moment. But things can change quickly, and if he's the guy the Patriots want running their offense, there's a great chance they'll get him.
UPDATE: O'Brien interviewed with the Patriots on Thursday.
Nick Caley
Bill Belichick passed over Caley -- the team's tight ends coach -- for OC last season, opting to go with the Patricia/Judge tandem. Caley interviewed for the opening on Wednesday, after he interviewed with the New York Jets for their opening at offensive coordinator.
Caley has been in New England since 2015, working his way up from an offensive assistant to tight ends coach.
Keenan McCardell
The former star receiver will reportedly interview with New England on Thursday. McCardell has been in coaching since 2010, when he served as wide receivers coach for the Washington Redskins. He held the same position at Maryland University (2014-15), with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-20), and most recently, in Minnesota with the Vikings.
McCardell does have a relationship with Belichick, too, having played for him in Cleveland from 1992-95.
Adrian Klemm
How about another Belichick connection? Klemm was his first draft pick in New England, and is now set to interview for the OC vacancy.
The former offensive guard, who played in New England from 2000-04, has 15 years of coaching experience under his belt. He was the assistant offensive line coach in Pittsburgh from 2019-20 and promoted to the offensive line coach in 2021. Most of his experience has been in the college ranks, with Klemm serving on the staffs as SMU (2008-11), UCLA (2012-16), and most recently, as the associate head coach/run game coordinator/offensive line coach at Oregon in 2022.
Shawn Jefferson
The former Patriots receiver will reportedly interview with New England on Friday.
After a 13-year playing career, Jefferson has been on the coaching staffs in Detroit (2006-12), Tennessee (2013-15), Miami (2016-18), with the New York Jets (2019-20), and in Arizona (2021), serving mostly as wide receivers coach. Jefferson was also the assistant head coach with the Jets and in 2022, he was named the associate head coach with the Cardinals.