Hours after the Colts announced they had agreed to terms with Josh McDaniels to become their next head coach, the Patriots' offensive coordinator had a change of heart and will remain with New England, a league source confirmed.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was first with the news.
BSJ analysis
Information is coming in from sources as I'm typing this, so this might be a bit of a stream of conscious...
- One league source with ties to the Patriots said: "Indy gotta be deflated ... bb gets last laugh always."
- That same source said he had a hunch this would happen with the fallout from the Super Bowl and the Krafts wanting to leave themselves options to cover their bases.
- Bill Belichick is expected to remain Patriots coach through next season at least, but no one can say that for certain, not even the Krafts.
- A source close to McDaniels was stunned and thought he was definitely going to the Colts.
- Family has always been a primary concern for McDaniels and he has been uneasy about uprooting his wife, Laura, and their four young children.
- A league source says that McDaniels has received no assurances about succeeding Belichick as head coach. In fact, if Belichick's future was in doubt, McDaniels likely would have planted his flag somewhere else.
- Several league sources have told BSJ in the past month that both defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who will be announced as Lions coach on Wednesday, and McDaniels had concerns about succeeding arguably the best coach in NFL history. There is also uncertainty what the Patriots landscape would be like once Robert Kraft steps down from being the primary owner.
- There is still much to hash out between the triumvirate of Kraft, Belichick and Tom Brady. This could be seen as a move to make Brady more comfortable, as this has been a rocky season with intra-team dynamics. The communication between Brady and Belichick had noticeably lessened this season, and that could have become more of an issue with a new offensive coordinator (like receivers coach Chad O'Shea). With McDaniels staying, it's much easier for him to stay as a conduit between the two power brokers. It would have been tougher with O'Shea in place. Now McDaniels and Brady can basically continue running the offense.
- Kraft, at least monetarily, made McDaniels' decision much easier for him to remain in Foxborough, but terms were not revealed.
- This will certainly make it tougher for McDaniels to get another head coaching job around the league, but it does not rule it out. With so many people around the league with ties to the Patriots — and others who have a great deal of respect for Belichick and would heed any vote of confidence he would have in the future — there will still be opportunities for McDaniels down the road should he want to leave Foxb0rough at some point.
- Statement from the Colts: "After agreeing to terms to become the Indianapolis Colts' new head coach, New England Patriots assistant coach Josh McDaniels this evening informed us that he would not be joining our team. Although we are surprised and disappointed, we will resume our head coaching search immediately and find the right fit to lead our team and organization on and off the field."
That's it ... for now
