Patriots’ Bill Belichick may be reason Josh McDaniels isn’t a head coach

While Bill Belichick played a large role in assistant Joe Judge becoming head coach of the Giants, he may also have sabotaged longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels from doing the same.

Belichick, according to CBS, refused to allow McDaniels to move up his scheduled head coaching interviews this past week, leading McDaniels to wait until Friday to speak with the dysfunctional Browns, who now are the only team searching for a head coach.

Teams must request permission to speak with an assistant coach under contract, and the Browns, Giants and Panthers did so for McDaniels at the end of the regular season.

But Belichick reportedly wouldn’t allow McDaniels to meet with Carolina on Monday, the same day he allowed Judge, his special teams and wide receivers coach, to speak with the Giants. Belichick also vouched for Judge when the Giants asked him for his input, and he had a hand in the Giants hiring the 38-year-old.

The Panthers, who reportedly were extremely interested in McDaniels, instead met with Matt Rhule on Monday, and hired the former Baylor head coach the next day. The Giants hired Judge on Tuesday, too. That left McDaniels for the Browns, who are coming off a chaotic, disappointing season and are in the process of restoring their front-office after firing general manager John Dorsey and head coach Freddie Kitchens.

That the 43-year-old has been a part of the Patriots’ six-Super Bowl dynasty from the start and is considered one of Belichick’s most trusted confidants could explain why Belichick may have been hesitant to let McDaniels interview elsewhere in the immediate days after the Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs in the AFC wild-card round.

McDaniels, who famously turned his back on the Colts after accepting a coaching-job with the team two years ago, began working with Belichick and the Patriots in 2001 before leaving for a failed head coaching stint with the Broncos and eventually returning.

There is a lot of uncertainty in New England, as Tom Brady is expected to hit free agency for the first time while Belichick’s future with the organization also is unclear.