Report: Greg Schiano Expected to Interview for Patriots' DC Opening

Greg Schiano may be returning to the NFL's coaching ranks.

NBC Sports Boston's Gary Tanguay reported Thursday that Schiano is expected to interview for the New England Patriots' defensive coordinator vacancy.

The Detroit Free Press' Dave Birkett reported in January the Patriots' current defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, will become the Detroit Lions' head coach when New England's season concludes after Super Bowl LII on Sunday in Minneapolis.

When Schiano was in line for the Tennessee job, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spoke of him in glowing terms.

Belichick told reporters in November he met Schiano when his son, Stephen, attended Rutgers, where Schiano was the head coach from 2001 to 2011. They continued crossing paths when Schiano coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 and 2013:

"He's one of the very best coaches I think in our profession. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Greg and the way he runs his program and the job that he does. I would say the most impressive thing for me is the way that our players, which we've had a lot of Rutgers players come through here, the loyalty and the I would say love of the program, the college program that they were in at Rutgers when he was there, how they maintained that for years and years after they had left."

Between his experience both in the NFL and college and his existing relationship with Belichick, Schiano is a natural fit to succeed Patricia.

His time in Tampa showed he's probably better suited to be a coordinator than an NFL head coach. NFL.com's Michael Silver spoke to a former Buccaneers player who said playing for Schiano was "like being in Cuba" because of his demanding style.

Belichick and the general structure in New England would likely prevent Schiano from repeating the mistakes he made in Tampa.