Less than 12 hours after Josh McDaniels spurned the Colts to stay in New England, the fallout is still falling. The reason behind the decision remains a bit of a mystery, though there is plenty of speculation about his motivations.
Was it Patriots loyalty or Colts concern or some combination of the two? NFL Network reported that McDaniels had a lengthy conversation with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick when he went to clean out his office after the Colts had announced he was their next head coach.
Wary of uprooting his family from New England for Indianapolis, McDaniels allegedly felt uneasy accepting the job, with ESPN noting that the more he “reflected on potentially having the opportunity to coach the Colts, the more it did not feel right to him.”
Though there is no guarantee McDaniels will be Belichick’s successor when the present head coach’s time in New England comes to a close, Belichick could retire as a 42-year-old quarterback Tom Brady sees his contract expire after the 2019 season. It would likely be McDaniels’ final chance to be a head coach, as it’s unlikely another team outside New England would consider him after watching what the Colts went through.
Nevertheless, Indianapolis is not a perfect situation for whoever gets the job. The Colts are currently at a crossroads not only at head coach, but with franchise quarterback Andrew Luck, who missed the entire 2017 season with a shoulder injury. Question marks surrounding Luck’s longevity continue to come into play, as doctors expressed concern over the 28-year-old’s shoulder and whether additional surgery is required, per ESPN.
Another potential contributing factor: troubled Colts owner Jim Irsay. McDaniels reportedly had second thoughts about working with Irsay, per Pro Football Talk. The owner is not shy about sharing his opinions publicly, and his past includes pleading guilty to an OWI in 2014 that led to a six-game NFL suspension.
One conspiracy has it that Kraft is using McDaniels’ abrupt exit from Indianapolis as another form of revenge against the Colts for Deflategate. Former Colts GM Ryan Grigson is the one who alerted the league to the potential issue of deflated footballs, ultimately leading to a four-game suspension for Brady.
“That’s Kraft putting it to the Colts again. He will forever try and [expletive] that place ever since Deflategate,” a league insider told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday evening.
While the Patriots are expected to make another run at a championship in the Belichick-Brady era, the Colts remain in disarray as they embark on another head-coaching search, with many of the prime candidates, including McDaniels’ former colleague Matt Patricia, already off the board.