Vikings WRs Coach Keenan McCardell Getting Buzz For Patriots' OC Opening

McCardell has been a fantastic wide receivers coach in Minnesota for the past two seasons.

The New England Patriots have requested permission to interview Vikings wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell for their offensive coordinator position, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapaport.

The Patriots are casting a wide net as they look to replace Matt Patricia, so this doesn't mean McCardell will get the job. But it's certainly interesting news that shows other teams are taking note of how well he has done with the receiver group in Minnesota over the last couple years.

McCardell was the only position coach to survive a regime change last offseason. His first year with the Vikings was on Mike Zimmer's staff in 2021, and Kevin O'Connell kept him around after being hired as Minnesota's new head coach a year ago. Part of the reason for that is that the Vikings' receivers, including Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, publicly made it clear they wanted McCardell retained.

By all accounts, McCardell has been a fantastic WRs coach for the Vikings. The 16-year NFL receiver is not only a great coach from a teaching sense, he has strong relationships with his players, as evidenced by the support they showed him last year. Losing him would be a big blow for the Vikings.

McCardell has helped Jefferson continue to elevate his game every year, leading the NFL with 128 catches for 1,809 yards this season. He was there for K.J. Osborn's breakout season last year and a similarly-productive third season. He's also helped develop younger receivers like Ihmir Smith-Marsette in 2021 and Jalen Nailor this season, among others.

With there seemingly being a strong possibility Adam Thielen becomes a cap casualty this offseason, it would make sense for the Vikings to add another receiver to pair with Jefferson and Osborn and Nailor. They'd like McCardell to be around for that, if possible, but it would be an incredible opportunity if he got hired by Bill Belichick to lead an offense for the first time.

McCardell was Washington's receivers coach for two seasons to begin his coaching career, then went to the college level to coach receivers at Maryland — where he worked with Stefon Diggs for one season. He then returned to the pros as the Jaguars' WRs coach from 2017-20 before joining Zimmer's staff. He has never called plays before.

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