Colts, McDaniels close

New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is nearing a deal to become the next coach of the Colts, an NFL source told IndyStar.com. McDaniels cannot be officially hired until the Patriots’ season ends, per NFL rules. With the Patriots competing in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, they are one win shy of another Super Bowl berth. That would push McDaniels’ official hiring back two additional weeks. Still, the sides appear to have reached a point in their talks where a deal is all but expected.

❚ Vikings offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is expected to be offered and accept the job as the next coach of the New York Giants, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to The Record and NorthJersey.com. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal had been reached. Shurmur is not allowed to negotiate with or officially be hired by the Giants until the Vikings are eliminated from the playoffs.

❚ The Titans fired coach

Mike Mularkey after discussions about a contract extension soured. “I think we’ve done a lot of good things here over the last two years. I just felt like we needed to go a different direction and maximize the skill sets of the players,” Titans GM

Jon Robinson said. Robinson will conduct a search for a coach. The Titans, according to media reports, have requested permission to interview Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel.

❚ If Matt Patricia has a deal in place to become the next Detroit Lions coach, he’s not saying. Patricia, the Patriots defensive coordinator, declined to address reports he will be the next Lions coach during a teleconference Monday. “I’m really just in the same place as I was last week,” Patricia said. “I went through the process that the NFL allows us to go through and during the bye week I was able to have the opportunity to talk to a couple teams, which I did, and then quickly turn my focus to a very good Tennessee team and now I’m on to a very dangerous Jacksonville team.”