Colts name Josh McDaniels their new head coach -- what's the next step for the Patriots?

The Colts did as expected on Tuesday morning, announcing the hiring of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach.

So what now for New England?


The default move would appear to promote wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea. The 45-year-old O’Shea, who was hired by the Patriots as the wide receivers coach in 2009, has coached 22 years, including stops with the Vikings, Chiefs, the University of Houston and Southern Mississippi. He certainly appeared to be the guy next in command this summer, as he got the opportunity to call offensive plays in a preseason game this past summer, an indication he could be in for bigger things sooner rather than later.

Asked last week about the possibility of moving up the food chain, O’Shea said his focus was elsewhere.

“We do a great job of staying in the now, and that’s what we’ve done,” O’Shea told Bostonsportsjournal.com last week when he was asked about the possibility of taking over as the offensive coordinator. “There’s job speculation like there is every year, and my focus has been on this game, these receivers that I’m coaching. Anything else right now would not be the right thing for me to think. I’m staying in the now and staying in the moment.

“It’s a great opportunity to be here. I’ve been fortunate to be around great coaches, from Billy O’Brien to Josh (McDaniels) to of course Bill (Belichick). It’s been great for my learning and great for me to be around these coaches.”

O’Shea is a well-respected coach who has earned the respect of the locker room, as well as the other coaches who have worked with him over the years. The wide receivers who have been on the roster the last few seasons acknowledge his work in helping shape their respective careers. Danny Amendola, in particular, doesn’t mince words when asked about the impact O’Shea has had on his career.

“Huge,” he replied. “He’s been instrumental in just our whole room, just when it comes to playing good football. He’s been one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around. He makes it fun to come to work every day. Everybody loves him — he’s a really, really, really good football coach.”

“Chad has been a great coach,” said wide receiver Chris Hogan. “Since I got here, he’s really really helped me understand this offense and (everything that comes with) playing the position. I take all coaching, and Chad has been around some really good receivers. Chad has been in this offense for a pretty long time (and) has a lot of good tools and tips and ways to help you win games. Chad is great in that room. He really does an awesome job preparing us.”

One thing that could be working in O’Shea’s favor is the fact that there doesn’t appear — at least on the surface — to be an outside candidate for the job, as we’ve seen with Greg Schiano. (One name that could have been in play for the job was former New England tight ends coach Brian Daboll, who ended up going from Alabama to the Bills.) There’s also the possibility that the Patriots could promote assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski, another young offensive assistant who has been part of the franchise since 2013 and the assistant quarterbacks coach the last two years. But Schuplinski doesn't have near the resume that O'Shea possesses, and would seem to be more of a move into O'Shea's role if he assumes the OC job.

A potential wild card in this scenario? Nick Caserio. The Patriots director of player personnel is currently part of New England’s front office, but maintains a heavy influence when it comes to the on-field product. He’s on the headsets on game day, and the former college quarterback has also been frequently spotted at practice, occasionally showing off his throwing arm. He’s worked on the coaching side on multiple levels, including a year as the offensive coaching assistant (2002) and the receivers coach (2007). If the Patriots feel that O’Shea isn’t ready to take that next step, Caserio could spend a year or two helping with the transition and having a greater role when it comes to offensive game planning.

In November, Belichick was asked about Caserio’s overall "value" to the franchise.

“Nick does a great job and he has a great interaction and understanding of what’s going on on the coaching side of it,” Belichick said. “He's involved in the day-to-day coaching part of it. He’s certainly involved in all of the personnel aspects of his job, college, pro, free agent workouts, waiver, everything. But you throw all of the coaching stuff on top of that, the week-to-week role in the press box and on the practice field. I mean, he does a tremendous amount. I can’t think of any other personnel person that would even come close to that. I don’t know who it would be. I don’t know what everybody else does, but I don’t know anybody.”