The Las Vegas Raiders have reportedly asked permission to interview Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy. (AP photo)

The Las Vegas Raiders have made a request to interview New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels for their head coach opening.

A person familiar with the search said Thursday the Raiders made the request to speak with McDaniels about filling the void left when Jon Gruden resigned in October. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team was not announcing its candidates.

McDaniels is the fourth known candidate for the position. Interim coach Rich Bisaccia interviewed for the full-time role last week, and Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and Patriots defensive assistant Jerod Mayo interviewed with owner Mark Davis this week.

McDaniels is the first of those candidates with an offensive background, having been coordinator for New England for 14 seasons and the St. Louis Rams for one. McDaniels also had an unsuccessful head coaching tenure in Denver from 2009-10 and pulled out of the job in Indianapolis immediately after being hired in 2018 to return to the Patriots.

McDaniels is viewed as one of the brighter offensive minds in the game with his many years working with Tom Brady on the Patriots and his work this season helping to develop rookie Mac Jones.

But his first experience as head coach fell apart quickly following a 6-0 start in 2009 after he traded away quarterback Jay Cutler in one of his first moves. Denver finished 8-8 that season and McDaniels was fired with a 3-9 record in 2010, losing 17 of his final 22 games as coach.

McDaniels was also fined $50,000 by the NFL for not reporting that the team’s director of video operations videotaped a San Francisco 49ers walkthrough practice before the teams played a game in 2010 in London. The investigation determined that McDaniels did not know about the taping in advance and declined to view it but he was punished for not immediately reporting the infraction to the league.

While several former assistants to Bill Belichick in New England have gotten head coaching jobs, the success rate of those coaches isn’t high.

The seven coaches — McDaniels, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Bill O’Brien, Matt Patricia, Brian Flores and Joe Judge — have combined for a .410 winning percentage and five playoff berths in 27 seasons they began as head coach. O’Brien had four of those playoff seasons in Houston with Mangini having the other with the Jets.

The Raiders are seeking a full-time coach after Gruden was forced to resign following the release of old offensive emails he wrote.

Bisaccia led the Raiders to a 7-5 record in the regular season and their second playoff berth in 19 years before losing in the wild-card round to the Bengals.

Davis is also seeking a new general manager after firing Mike Mayock last week after three seasons.

Davis has interviewed several candidates for that job so far, including Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler, Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly, Bengals scout Trey Brown and Raiders director of pro personnel Dwayne Joseph.

Both Ziegler and Kelly have ties to McDaniels. Kelly worked with him in Denver.

In other NFL coaching news:

BRONCOS HIRE PACKERS’ HACKETT

Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett has agreed to become the Denver Broncos’ new head coach.

He replaces Vic Fangio, who was fired a day after the Broncos finished 7-10, their sixth consecutive season out of the playoffs and fifth straight year they’ve failed to post a winning record.

Hackett, 42, brings energy and enthusiasm to a franchise that has foundered ever since winning Super Bowl 50 six years ago.

Might he also bring No. 12 with him from Green Bay?

Choosing Hackett sent speculation skyrocketing that the Broncos were trying to lure star Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers to Denver, perhaps along with his star receiver Davante Adams, who is set to hit free agency in March.

Hackett, 42, emerged as the front-runner on his own merits, however, which includes his work with quarterback Blake Bortles as Jacksonville’s offensive coordinator from 2016-18 before he went to Green Bay and helped Matt LaFleur win a record 39 regular-season games in his first three seasons as head coach.

BEARS HIRE EBERFLUS

Indianapolis defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press, tasked with turning around a franchise mired in mediocrity for much of the past decade.

Eberflus has spent the past four years as Indianapolis’ defensive coordinator, helping turn around a unit that ranked among the league’s worst. The Colts ranked eighth on defense in 2020, though they slipped to 16th this season.

Indianapolis missed the playoffs at 9-8, closing with two straight losses when a win in either game would have clinched a postseason berth.

The hire is the first big move for new Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who took over on Tuesday. Poles and Eberflus are first-timers in their respective positions in the NFL.

The first big question for Eberflus is his offensive coordinator, since a big part of the job for the new coach and GM will be solidifying the quarterback position that has haunted the founding NFL franchise for decades.

That likely means figuring out a way to get the most out of Justin Fields and surrounding him with the cast to help him develop. The former Ohio State star had a shaky rookie season, though he also showed potential.