New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick gave his assistant coaches one day to conclude head-coaching interviews, and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels narrowed down his list to three teams.
McDaniels spent three hours apiece with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Rams before capping his busy Saturday with 49ers executives Jed York and Paraag Marathe.
"It's humbling and it's a privilege to have an opportunity to do any of those things," McDaniels said Monday via the Providence Journal. "(I) feel very fortunate to have an opportunity to sit in front of those people that they would listen to me and spend time with me so just try to do the best you can and represent yourself, your team, the organization you come from, your family as best you can and all the rest will play out how it's supposed to play out."
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McDaniels previously interviewed with the 49ers in two years ago. The 49ers announced the firing of coach Chip Kelly just hours after the team’s final game of the season. The 49ers will have a fourth head coach in four seasons.
McDaniels, 40, appears ready for his second NFL head-coaching job. He was fired late in his second season with the Denver Broncos in 2010 after compiling an 11-17 record. But McDaniels is back as a hot candidate after serving as Patriots offensive coordinator the past five seasons under Belichick.
On Monday, McDaniels was asked if he goes to Belichick for advice during the process.
“He's the best," McDaniels said. "He's very unselfish and cares for us all. If there's something that we need or we would ask of him, I'm certain he would do it and give it to us, whether it's advice, wisdom, counsel. He's not only somebody we take our queue from in terms of getting ready for the next opponent but he's a mentor in a lot of different areas of our lives.
San Francisco 49ers
“This will be no different. I couldn't ask for people to mentor me any better than he's done. Robert [Kraft], Jonathan [Kraft], same thing. They're there to offer anything they can as a resource to help people that are working for them and I hope they know how much we appreciate that."
McDaniels is not permitted to have a second meeting with any of the teams with which he interviewed until the Patriots have been eliminated from the playoffs. If New England advances to the Super Bowl, a second interview could occur during the week after the AFC Championship, but no later than the Sunday preceding the Super Bowl.