Green Bay Packers: Ranking Mike McCarthy’s potential replacements

5. Josh McDaniels: This one-time wonderkid struck out in his first head-coaching opportunity with the Denver Broncos for a variety of reasons, including being impulsive and drafting poorly.

But McDaniels’ most damaging flaw was his silly attempt of trying to be another version of his predecessor, Bill Belichick, by maintaining a cold and stoic demeanor around his players.

The young thirty-something reluctantly accepted the fact that his draconian style of leadership was a big turnoff for many of his guys that didn’t put forth their best effort for him when things began going south.

To his credit, McDaniels has reportedly learned from his mistakes and has even sought out the counsel of Hall-of-Fame coach Tony Dungy in a personal bid to overcome his weaknesses.

The man who once spent a first-round pick on Tim Tebow has redeemed himself by returning to New England.

The now 40-year-old play caller has been masterful at changing his plan of attack not only from week-to-week but drive-to-drive, whether that means loading up on tight ends and handing it off to LeGarrette Blount or bringing the smaller James White or Dion Lewis into the game and feeding them the ball on short screens and shallow routes.

What makes his attack so tough to game plan for is how McDaniels disguises his plays in an effort to conceal tendencies opponents can hone in on.

The bottom line with McDaniels is that he’s very qualified to take over a head-coaching position from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Handling the media and relating to his players are the two factors that could continue barricading his advancement. Probability: 25 percent