Colts coaching rumors: Josh McDaniels to Titans?

If the Tennessee Titans end up landing Josh McDaniels for their head coaching vacancy, who are the Indianapolis Colts left to target?

On Monday morning, the shocking news came down that the Tennessee Titans had fired Mike Mularkey, following a second straight 9-7 season, this one including a playoff victory. Still, it wasn’t enough to save Mularkey, who many believe has stagnated the development of third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota.

In that vein, there is already ample talk that Josh McDaniels will be coming to Nashville. McDaniels, 41, is the current offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots and has been rumored for multiple head coaching jobs including the New York Giants and most-recently, the Indianapolis Colts.

Indianapolis has reportedly been enamored with McDaniels, making him the center of their search. However, it has seemed that the former Denver Broncos head man might be lukewarm to the idea of coming aboard, perhaps concerned about the long-term health of Andrew Luck. Luck, who was originally supposed to be fully recovered from shoulder surgery in time to play at the start of the 2017 regular season, missed all 16 games.

If McDaniels does indeed end up in Tennessee, where do the Colts go? Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub seems like an obvious fit, with former Chiefs personnel man Chris Ballard working as the Colts’ general manager. However, Toub is yet to be interviewed by the team, which has already had meetings with Baylor head coach Matt Rhule and former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy (who went with the Chicago Bears instead), among others.

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This search has been lacking in star power and pace since the beginning. It’s fair to wonder whether Ballard or owner Jim Irsay is pulling the strings, considering how disjointed the process has been. It’s normal for teams to take a few weeks before finding the right candidate, but unlike the New York Giants, Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions, it appears nobody is particularly interested in the job provided they have any other options.

With that in mind, it could be a long shot that McDaniels winds up in Indianapolis. What stings all the more is that he’ll be coaching against the Colts from within their own division if Tennessee snags him.