Colts reportedly working on deal to make Josh McDaniels new head coach
The Indianapolis Colts are reportedly set to hire Josh McDaniels as their next head coach.
Fox 59 reporter Mike Chappell tweeted that the two sides are “close,” and NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Colts are “expected” to hire McDaniels.
McDaniels, who has spent the majority of his career with the New England Patriots, has seemingly been the Colts’ top target from the day they fired Chuck Pagano. McDaniels found the job appealing too, with the presence of Andrew Luck and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, and a respected general manager, Chris Ballard, in place.
This is the second head coaching opportunity for the 41-year-old McDaniels; previously, he was named Denver Broncos coach at just 33. The relationship between franchise and coach soured quickly, and McDaniels was fired with 12 games played in just his second season.
In the time since, at the advice of his father, McDaniels has maintained a file on his laptop. As explained in a 2016 story by Dan Pompei for Bleacher Report, the now-extensive document, titled “lessonslearned” highlights everything McDaniels learned in his brief time as a head coach, and what he’d do differently when given the opportunity again.
And he’s had other opportunities: a few years ago, Jimmy Haslam wanted McDaniels to be the Cleveland Browns’ head coach; last year, the San Francisco 49ers wanted McDaniels. But he’s been waiting for the right opportunity, the right combination of quarterback and franchise stability.
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But with Luck – presuming he’ll finally be able to get past the shoulder issues that led to him not playing this year – and Brissett, whom McDaniels worked with in New England, McDaniels has two quarterbacks under age 30 to work with, a good relationship with Ballard, and an owner in Jim Irsay who, by many reports, isn’t the meddling type.
On Sunday, it was reported that McDaniels and Mike Vrabel, the Houston Texans defensive coordinator, were the finalists for the Colts’ gig. But Indianapolis may have accelerated its decision to hire McDaniels with Monday’s surprising news that the Tennessee Titans had flip-flopped and parted ways with coach Mike Mularkey.
The Titans’ GM is Jon Robinson, who has a long relationship with McDaniels from Robinson’s time with the Patriots; McDaniels was believed to have been a target for Tennessee two years ago, before Mularkey was hired.
As he waited for the right opportunity, McDaniels has been in charge of the Patriots’ offense, which isn’t a bad way to spend his time. Since returning to New England in 2012, McDaniels has won two more Super Bowl rings (he was a personnel assistant in 2001, when New England won its first, a defensive assistant in 2003 for its second, and quarterbacks coach in 2004 for its third).
The Patriots host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC title game on Sunday, so McDaniels can’t fully turn his attention to the Colts until New England’s season ends, whether that’s this weekend or after the Super Bowl.
