Josh McDaniels Ditches Colts to Stay With Patriots After Super Bowl Loss
New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels turned his back on the Indianapolis Colts at the last minute to stay with his current team after they lost Super Bowl LII.
Weeks before the Super Bowl, there were reports that McDaniels was the top choice to be the new head coach for the Colts. Soon, rumors escalated indicating that McDaniels had gone to several meetings with the Indianapolis franchise where the offseason plans of the teams were discussed.
However, the supposed partnership between McDaniels and the Colts appeared to have collapsed overnight after the Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on the night of Feb. 4 with a score of 41-33.
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It could have been McDaniels' second opportunity to work as a head coach after his one-year stint with the Denver Broncos in 2009-2010.
McDaniels had never publicly acknowledged his pre-Super Bowl agreement with the Colts. However, the latter expressed its disappointment following McDaniels' sudden change of mind.
In a Wednesday press conference, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said: "The rivalry (Colts vs. Patriots) is back on."
Meanwhile, it does not look like McDaniels was promoted as head coach of the Patriots as Bill Belichick still holds the post. However, a meeting between the two men was reportedly crucial in convincing McDaniels to stay.
According to ESPN, Belichick promised McDaniels that they were going to work closer together to focus on "the inner workings of the Patriots." The report said McDaniels would now participate in the decisions on building the team's roster as well as managing the franchise' salary cap.
Taking on these tasks were reportedly important to McDaniels and was viewed as possibly part of "a succession plan" on who takes Belichick's post in the future. However, ESPN said the Patriots front office did not make any promises to McDaniels.
While McDaniels was not yet legally bound to the Colts at the time when he turned them down, there were still repercussions to his move. Reports suggested that ditching the agreement with the Colts could hurt McDaniels' reputation and his future as a head coach if ever the Patriots do not appoint him to that post.
McDaniels' agent, Bob LaMonte, who is also Ballard's agent, decided to part ways with the Patriots' OC after the decision change.
