Josh McDaniels is finally accepting another head coaching job, but will it work this time?
History has a way of repeating itself, just at the Eagles. Back in 1960, a Buck Shaw-led team went up against a legendary head coach and quarterback duo for one of football’s greatest dynasties. Philadelphia won that game, beating Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr, and repeated history on Sunday by beating the New England Patriots with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Josh McDaniels is hoping history stops repeating itself there. The Patriots offensive coordinator is expected to take a head coaching gig with the Indianapolis Colts, which would be his second foray into that world. The first time around he flamed out hard with the Denver Broncos, despite a hot start that made it seem like he would be the first ex-Belichick coordinator to break the curse of never being able to repeat success.
The report itself comes as no real surprise, save for some last-minute drama on Sunday where PFT hinted that McDaniels might be weighing staying in New England.
That’s not happening, though.
NBC Sports’ Tom Curran was told last night that Josh McDaniels will inform Bill Belichick today of his plans to take the Colts job, and will be in Indy later this week for a press conference. So you may exhale now.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) February 5, 2018
It’s going to be a full coordinator reboot for the Patriots, but this isn’t about them. This is about McDaniels going out on his own and avoiding the problems that befell him Indianapolis.
There is a legitimate argument to be made that McDaniels is a better coordinator than he is a head coach. His failure with the Broncos was so massive that he had to stay away from New England for a year or so before Belichick let him crawl back. The main criticism aimed towards him is that he has benefited from coaching one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time in Tom Brady, where a guy like Matt LaFleur is cutting his teeth with multiple chains of success.
McDaniels was one of the bright spots of the Patriots Super Bowl 52 meltdown, however. While Matt Patricia and Bill Belichick are getting dragged, McDaniels’ offensive play calling has been praised, from the obviousness of how well the offense moves to the mixed formations he used to break apart the Eagles defense.
A lot of McDaniels’ success relies on what the future holds for Andrew Luck. All indications are that he’ll be fine, otherwise, McDaniels might not be taking the job. Getting Luck into the Patriots system McDaniels has perfected in New England could be the key to finally unlocking the quarterback’s potential, but only time will tell.
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Acknowledging McDaniels’ failure in Denver as he’s about to take a job in Indianapolis isn’t facetious, but don’t hold it against him. He’s nothing if not a master of adjusting on the fly — and he’s going to try and prove that unlike ever before.