NFL insider links Bill Belichick disciple to Vikings head coaching job

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport recently suggested New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could be interested in becoming the next Minnesota Vikings head coach.

With the Mike Zimmer era expected to come to an end for the Minnesota Vikings in the near future, possible candidates to become the team’s next head coach are already starting to pop up in the rumor mill.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport recently appeared on WEEI radio’s “Gresh & Keefe” and he casually mentioned the Vikings as a team that could make current New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels their next head coach. Rapoport has his reasoning for why McDaniels to Minnesota could actually be a possibility this year.

"“Would he go to a place that already has a GM? I would have my doubts there. If he’s going to do it, he’s going to do it his way. He’s going to do it properly. He’s going to do it with the right structure and personnel. I would imagine he’d go to a place where there’s not a current GM in place. The Raiders would make some sense. We’ll see what happens with the Vikings.”"

Could Josh McDaniels leave the New England Patriots to lead the Minnesota Vikings in 2022?

It’s understandable that McDaniels would prefer to go to a team that is in need of a new general manager since he’s watched Patriots head coach Bill Belichick achieve success by also being the team’s general manager for more than a decade.

If the Vikings aren’t leaning towards removing Rick Spielman as their general manager, would this possible requirement from McDaniels cause Minnesota to think differently in order to land the New England offensive coordinator as their next head coach?

Wherever McDaniels ends up if he actually decides to leave the Patriots, he’s going to make sure that he’s provided all the tools he feels are necessary to succeed.

Many probably don’t realize this is part of the reason why he backed out of the Indianapolis Colts head coaching job back in 2018 after it was reported that he had accepted the gig.

Agreements couldn’t be made on some of the things McDaniels felt he was going to need in order to succeed with the Colts. So instead of potentially setting himself up to fail, he decided to not take the job, and wait for one that would be a better opportunity for himself and his family.

Obviously, it’s still very early in the search for the next Vikings head coach, especially since they haven’t even fired their current one yet. But if Minnesota removes Spielman as their general manager during the next few weeks, don’t be surprised if McDaniels becomes a serious candidate to replace Zimmer.