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- New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has backed out of a deal to become the next head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
- McDaniels changed his mind after several assistant coaches had already signed deals and moved to Indianapolis to work on his coaching staff.
- The entire scenario may have hurt McDaniels’ future head coaching hopes, at least any outside of New England.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Indianapolis Colts announced they had hired New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to be their next head coach with a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
Several hours later, the deal was off and now some assistant coaches are stuck in a new job without a head coach.
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, several assistant coaches had already been hired under the belief that they would be working under McDaniels. Several of those coaches had apparently already moved to Indianapolis and were already working with the team.
“The Colts’ assistants you’ve seen reported (e.g. Matt Eberflus as DC) have signed contracts and have been in the team’s building, sources say,” Garafolo wrote on Twitter.
Garafolo reports that the coaches will likely remain with the Colts despite having no idea who their head coach will be. In addition, the Colts’ next head coach won’t have the luxury afforded most new head coaches — the freedom to pick his own assistants.
On Tuesday night, it was reported that McDaniels had changed his mind after Patriots owner Robert Kraft talked him into staying by “sweetening” his contract. The Colts later confirmed that McDaniels had indeed pulled out of his agreement.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that McDaniels was still calling coaches about joining him in Indianapolis as late as Tuesday.
There has already been speculation that McDaniels had ruined any future head coaching opportunities outside of New England with this stunt. Not only did McDaniels leave the Colts in a tough bind, several assistant coaches have seemingly uprooted their families to work under a head coach who never showed up.
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