McDaniels expected to be next Colts coach

New England OC can’t be hired until Pats’ season ends.

New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels could soon be on the other side of an AFC rivalry.

A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Monday night the Colts are “close” to reaching a deal that would make McDaniels their next coach.

Even if they did reach a deal, though, league rules prohibit the Colts from making an official announcement until after the Patriots’ season ends. New England will host Jacksonville in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. If the Pats win, the announcement wouldn’t come until at least Feb. 5.

McDaniels has been one of the league’s most coveted coordinators since returning to New England in 2012. Since then, the Pats have reached six consecutive conference championship games and won two Super Bowls.

With Indianapolis, McDaniels would inherit an injured franchise quarterback, Andrew Luck, and a backup, Jacoby Brissett, who he worked with for almost 16 months in New England.

McDaniels struggled to an 11-17 record in 2009 and 2010 with Denver, where he didn’t have a franchise quarterback.

The Colts job opened Dec. 31 when owner Jim Irsay fired Chuck Pagano within hours of the end of the season. Pagano was in charge for six seasons, and Indianapolis missed the playoffs each of the last three.

It’s unclear if Luck has resumed throwing as the one-year anniversary of his shoulder surgery nears. He had a partially torn labrum.

A healthy Luck would make Indianapolis one of the league’s more attractive jobs because general manager Chris Ballard also has the No. 3 draft pick and almost $90 million to spend in free agency.

New England’s defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, is reported to have a deal in place to become the next coach of the Lions.

Steelers: Todd Haley’s contract as the offensive coordinator is up, and coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t sound as if he’s in a rush to decide whether Haley will be back next season.

Tomlin sidestepped several attempts to endorse Haley’s return on Tuesday as the AFC North champions continued to dissect what went wrong in an upset home playoff loss to Jacksonville. Asked if he anticipated any changes to his staff, Tomlin demurred.

“I don’t know where these roads are going to lead,” Tomlin said. “Some contracts are up. Some aren’t. I’m not ready to discuss that.”

Rams: Offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur, 38, will interview with the Titans for their head coach position, multiple reports said. Tennessee fired Mike Mularkey on Monday, two days after a loss to the Patriots in a divisional playoff game.

Saints: Drew Brees, 39, said he expects to remain with the Saints as long as they’ll have him. The quarterback said he knows he’d have leverage to shop around if New Orleans doesn’t reach an extension with him before the new league year starts in March, but Brees says he doesn’t plan on that.

Jaguars: Running back Leonard Fournette escaped injury after what authorities said was a minor, three-car crash in Jacksonville. The team said its star running back’s car was rear-ended about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, and that he was not hurt. He was able to drive home after the crash. The Florida Highway Patrol says Fournette was not at fault in the crash.

Panthers: Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he is interested in becoming a minority owner in Carolina. Current Panthers owner Jerry Richardson announced in December he’s selling the team.

Jets: The team said its average ticket price for a game next season at MetLife Stadium will be reduced by 11 percent.

Josh McDaniels went 11-17 as Broncos coach in 2009-10.