Jerod Mayo has been busy since being named head coach of the New England Patriots. And he is taking his time when finding the perfect person for a critical role. 

The Patriots are in need of an offensive coordinator after Bill O'Brien left to join the coaching staff at Ohio State. 

And so far, Mayo has interviewed nine known candidates. 

With that, there have been some interesting trends emerge. Two of the candidates are tight end coaches, while a few of them also have ties to the Los Angeles Ram's head coach Sean McVay and San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. 

So let's take a look at all the candidates: 

Luke Getsy – per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler
Former Bears Offensive Coordinator 

The former Bears offensive coordinator is the most recent candidate to get an interview with the Patriots for the opening. 

Getsy played one season in the NFL with the 49ers in 2007, but then transitioned into coaching. He got his first NFL job with the Green Bay Packers in 2014 as the offensive quality control coach, before being promoted to wide receivers coach in 2016. After two season in that role, he took an offensive coordinator job with Mississippi State, but that was only for one season. 

He returned to the Packers as the quarterback coach in 2019, and added passing game coordinator to his title for the 2020 and 2021. 

In 2022, Getsy took a job as offensive coordinator with the Bears and was in that role for two years before being getting fired at the end of the 2023 season. 

Brian Fleury – per NFL NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero
49ers Tight Ends Coach

Fleury played college ball at Maryland before transferring to Towson, but went down the coaching path instead. 

He joined the NFL in 2013 as the quality control coach for the Bills, and then became the assistant linebackers coach in 2014. In 2015 he moved once again to become the outside linebackers coach. 

After the Bills, he joined their rivals. The Miami Dolphins hired him as a football research assistant and he was later promoted to director of football research. 

In 2020 he joined the 49ers and has remained there for the past five season. He started working directly with the tight ends in 2022, including George Kittle who finished that season with 11 touchdowns. 

According to Pelissero, he "has become a trusted assistant for Kyle Shanahan."

Tanner Engstrand – per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport 
Lions Passing Game Coordinator

The Lions have impressed this season, so it's no surprise why the Patriots would look to bring in someone from that staff. 

And they turned to Engstrand, who is the Lions pass game coordinator. 

Rapoport wrote that Engstrand “has become a popular one around the NFL thanks to Detroit’s offensive success.”

He started his coaching career at the University of San Diego under the direction of Jim Harbaugh. He remained there for a while and was eventually promoted to offensive coordinator. 

In 2019, he moved to the XFL, serving as the offensive coordinator for the DC Defenders.

He got his first gig in the NFL in 2020, being named an offensive assistant for the Detroit Lions. He then was named tight ends coach and passing game coordinator in 2022, working closely with Ben Johnson

Engstrand is an intriguing prospect who hasn’t gotten as much interest as some of the other candidates. 

Thomas Brown – per CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones
Panthers Offensive Coordinator 

Brown, the 2023 Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, interviewed for the same position with the Patriots. 

He had a short stint in the NFL as a player with the Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns, before transitioning to coaching. 

After primarily serving as a running backs coach at the collegiate level early in his career, he got his first opportunity as an offensive coordinator with Miami (U) from 2016 to 2018. 

In 2020, McVay brought him into the NFL as a running backs coach, but he became an assistant head coach in 2021. He transitioned from running backs coach to tight ends coach in 2022. 

Along with being interviewed for the Patriots offensive coordinator position, he also interviewed with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the same role. 

Jerrod Johnson – per CBS Sports‘ Jonathan Jones
Texans Quarterbacks Coach

Everyone across the NFL has been impressed with Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. And they can thank Johnson for that one. 

So with that, he is receiving some serious interest from teams across the NFL, including the Patriots. New England had some serious quarterback issues this season and need someone to come in and completely revamp the offense. 

Johnson has also interviewed with the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, and Philadelphia Eagles for their open offensive coordinator positions as well. 

He went undrafted in 2011, but played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys. 

His first coaching experience came with the 49ers, and he had stints with the Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings before landing with the Texans this past season. 

Shane Waldron – per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer
NEW: Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator 

The Patriots have missed out on this one already after the Bears hired Waldron as their new offensive coordinator. 

Waldron is very familiar with Massachusetts, having gone to school at Tufts. He also spent time with the Patriots with the first in 2002 to 2004 in an executive role, and later returned in 2008 and 2009 as an offensive quality control coach and then the tight ends coach. And not to mention he spent two seasons at UMass as the tight ends coach from 2014 to 2015. 

Along with the Patriots, he had stints with Washington, the Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks before signing with the Bears earlier this month. 

Dan Pitcher – per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport 
NEW: Bengals quarterbacks coach

This is another one that the Patriots won't be landing this year. After former Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan took the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans, Pitcher replaced him. 

Prior to his promotion, he served as the quarterbacks coach, working with Joe Burrow and helping Jake Browning excel when he was thrown into the starting position. 

He served as an executive with the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2015 before moving to the Bengals in 2016. 

Pitcher was a promising candidate, but it makes sense why he opted to stay in Cincinnati.  

Zac Robinson – per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer
Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach

Having played with the Patriots in 2010, the team was interested in possibly having a reunion. So they decided to bring Robinson in for an interview. 

After his time as a player, he was spent his entire career afterwards with the Rams, working under McVay. 

He has interest from the Buccaneers, Saints, Steelers, and Raiders along with New England. 

Nick Caley – per Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer 
Rams Tight Ends Coach

Another potential reunion and someone in the McVay coaching tree. 

The Patriots gave Caley his first shot in the NFL and he remained there from 2015 to 2022, starting as an offensive assistant before becoming the tight ends coach. 

He won two Super Bowls in New England, but moved to the Rams in 2023 in the same position. 

Patriots to name DeMarcus Covington as next defensive coordinator

We all saw this one coming.