Josh McDaniels officially spurned the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday to remain with the New England Patriots in what was a big surprise considering the day’s events.
The Colts reported on Twitter that they and McDaniels had agreed to a deal and that he would be introduced at a press conference on Wednesday. But later in the evening, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that McDaniels would not be taking the Colts job and that he would stay with the Patriots. The Colts cancelled the press conference and issued a statement confirming that McDaniels would not be the team’s head coach.
So what happened?
Schefter says McDaniels was unsure about the Colts job the whole way and had told them that.
From Schefter:
The truth is, McDaniels has been vacillating on this decision throughout the interview process, ever since meeting with the Colts on wild-card weekend. It is the reason a second meeting with Colts officials and team owner Jim Irsay was held. McDaniels was trying to get comfortable with the idea of taking his family out of New England and moving to Indianapolis, sources said.
…
The more McDaniels reflected on potentially having the opportunity to coach the Colts, the more it did not feel right to him and the better it felt to remain in New England. McDaniels still would like to become a head coach again, but this time, in this instance, he was not comfortable.
What about the job didn’t feel right to McDaniels? Why was he not comfortable?
While appearing on NBC Sports Network’s postgame show after the Super Bowl on Sunday, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said that McDaniels had second thoughts about working for Jim Irsay. Keep in mind that Florio reported on Super Bowl Sunday that McDaniels had not informed the Patriots that he was leaving. He also reported it was possible McDaniels could return to the Patriots. Florio turned out to be dead on about the McDaniels saga, so what he reports about the situation carries a lot of weight.
What about Irsay might make McDaniels uncomfortable? He’s the same owner who questioned the legitimacy of Andrew Luck’s injury. He has been suspended and fined by the league for DUI. And he also has taken a cheap shot at franchise legend Peyton Manning.
All of those factors could conceivably cause someone to have second thoughts, that’s for sure.
The Colts also reportedly were prepared for McDaniels to back out and are ready to interview new candidates.
