The 48-year-old interviewed for the vacancy on Tuesday.

A third tour is on deck in Foxborough.

The New England Patriots are expected to hire Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, as first reported Tuesday by Kirk Minihane of Barstool Sports.

McDaniels, 48, became the fourth candidate to interview for the vacancy, following meetings with Thomas Brown, Marcus Brady and Grant Udinski. And the familiar face loomed as the frontrunner since Mike Vrabel was introduced as the 16th head coach in franchise history last week.

A six-time Super Bowl champion who overlapped with the Patriots Hall of Fame linebacker, McDaniels entered the NFL ranks as a personnel assistant in 2001 after serving as a graduate assistant under Nick Saban at Michigan State. The former John Carroll wide receiver’s roles in his initial stint ranged from defensive assistant, quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator before becoming the head coach of the Denver Broncos from 2009 into 2010.

And during the 2011 playoffs, McDaniels made his way back to Bill Belichick’s staff after spending time with Steve Spagnuolo’s St. Louis Rams. He regained the titles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following Bill O’Brien’s departure to Penn State. After going from Tom Brady to Cam Newton as the starter under center, McDaniels oversaw Mac Jones’ rookie year of 2021. It brought a 67.6 completion percentage, 3,801 yards, 22 touchdowns, 13 interceptions as well as an appearance in the AFC wild card.

McDaniels, who posted a 20-32 record during his runs as an NFL head coach, was fired by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fall of 2023. He remained a free agent through this past season while continuing to reside near Gillette Stadium.

Now, McDaniels will enter the picture for reigning No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye, who spent his rookie campaign alongside offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach T.C. McCartney. Making 12 starts, the North Carolina product completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 2,276 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. An additional 421 yards and pair of scores arrived as a rusher.

“We want to put the best, talented coaches in front of our players,” Vrabel said during his introductory press conference. “When they stand in front of these players, I want the players to embrace what every coach is teaching. I will tell you this, as long as I’m the head coach here, our coaches will have three simple jobs — and they sound simple, and they’re probably not as simple as we want to make them be. They want to teach, they want to develop, and they want to inspire our players by making a connection.”