From 2000 through 2016, there were only two teams in the league Bill Belichick had never made a trade with: Indy and the New York Jets.
But the once-frosty relationship between the Colts and Patriots had thawed in recent months, so much so that last March, New England acquired tight end Dwayne Allen from the Colts in a trade, and in September, the two teams pulled off a Phillip Dorsett-for-Jacoby Brissett swap.
The two teams weren’t exactly chummy, but it looked like the ill will that had dominated the relationship between the two teams was a thing of the past. Deflategate. Belichick vs. Dungy. Brady vs. Peyton. Polian vs. Everybody. It was all in the rearview mirror, so much so that the once ridiculous idea of a New England coordinator taking over as the new Colts head coach didn’t seem utterly ridiculous. It was the start of a new era.
Not so fast.
In the wake of Josh McDaniels’ about-face earlier this week, everything old is new again. At the end of his press conference Wednesday where he talked about what happened — a gathering where he was very complimentary of McDaniels — Indy GM Chis Ballard sounded a tone that was new, but harkened back to the good old days: “The rivalry is back on.”
Chris Ballard with the greatest line in Indianapolis #Colts history.
"The rivalry is back on." ? pic.twitter.com/2JmPmlXQEZ
— Indy SportsOne (@IndySportsOne) February 7, 2018