Josh McDaniels backs out of Colts job, stays with Patriots
After losing Super Bowl LII, it was widely-assumed Josh McDaniels would leave the New England Patriots for the Indianapolis Colts. Turns out, not so fast.
The Patriots fell short against the Philadelphia Eagles on Super Sunday, and afterwards, it seemed as though New England would lose both of its coordinators to head-coaching jobs. on Monday, the Detroit Lions announced the hire of Matt Patricia, and it seemed a matter of time before Indianapolis would do the same with Josh McDaniels.
Then, on Tuesday night, Adam Schefter of ESPN dropped a major bomb, announcing that McDaniels would be returning to New England after owner Robert Kraft increased his contract.
Stunner: Patriots’ OC Josh McDaniels has decided NOT to accept Colts’ HC job and will remain with New England, sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2018
In the past 48 hours, Patriots owner Robert Kraft began talking with Josh McDaniels and ultimately wound up sweetening his contract, helping to entice him to remain in New England, per sources. Bill Belichick has his OC back.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2018
With McDaniels staying put, the Colts have been thrown into chaos once more. Indianapolis only has a few weeks before the start of the NFL Scouting Combine in its city, followed a week later by the opening of free agency.
General manager Chris Ballard might opt for a comfortable situation and hire Kansas City Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub. Toub has long been rumored to be in the running for the Colts job, along with other vacancies over the past few years. Before being hired as the general manager in Indianapolis, Ballard was a long-time executive with the Chiefs.
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Indianapolis interviewed a host of candidates in January after firing Chuck Pagano, eventually settling on McDaniels. Some of the names include Matt Nagy, Kris Richard, Matt Rhule and Mike Vrabel, two of which have latched on elsewhere.
Unquestionably, the health of Andrew Luck has to be driving potential coaches away from a very unstable situation.