Josh McDaniels spurned the Indianapolis Colts at the altar, and now he faces them this Sunday after everything has fallen apart.
Chris Ballard was furious.
In Feb. 2018, only days after Josh McDaniels agreed to leave his post as New England Patriots offensive coordinator to become the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach, McDaniels backed out.
In a reactive press conference, Ballard blasted McDaniels. The Colts general manager said he didn’t want an explanation for McDaniels about-face, going on to state “just because you’re the first choice doesn’t mean you’re the right choice.”
Four days later, the Colts hired Frank Reich to be their head coach.
As it turns out, those events led both McDaniels and the Colts to a converging path this Sunday, with both in dire straits.
On Monday morning, after 4+ seasons at the helm, including two playoff appearances and one postseason victory, Reich was fired. Owner Jim Irsay then stunned the football world by hiring former Colts All-Pro center Jeff Saturday as his replacement, despite Saturday not having any coaching experience above the high school level.
Incredibly, Saturday’s first game will come against McDaniels and his Las Vegas Raiders, who are 2-6 including three losses in which the Raiders led by at least 17 points.
Of course, we know how Reich’s tenure went in Indianapolis. His first season saw the Colts reach the AFC playoff as a wild card team before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional round. Then, eight months later, quarterback Andrew Luck stunned the football world by retiring, putting Indianapolis on a rollercoaster it’s yet to exit.
McDaniels, who stayed in New England instead of joining the Colts, won the Super Bowl in ’18 before three more seasons in Foxborough. Now he’s in Las Vegas, trying to get the Raiders out of the AFC West basement. So far, no luck. The once-great franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2002, and appears far from breaking said streak.
It’s fair to wonder how things could have gone differently for both the Colts and McDaniels had he not bolted at the final moment.
If McDaniels is in Indianapolis, does Tom Brady consider playing for a talented Colts roster when he became a free agent in 2020? After all, the two worked together in New England for 16 years, including 13 seasons with McDaniels as Brady’s quarterbacks coach.
Impossible to know the answer, but fun to consider.
However, the reality is giving us a soap opera in real time.
The Colts are going with a hire in Saturday that one league source told FanSided was the strangest hire he’d seen in his 30+ seasons in the league.
Meanwhile, McDaniels is already on the hot seat in some minds. The 46-year-old is trying to prove he’s not the failure he once was with the Denver Broncos a decade ago, when he lasted less than two years before being fired with an 11-17 record.
On Sunday, McDaniels will look across the Allegiant Stadium field at a team he quit on and a man who shockingly accepted the job he once abandoned before starting.
And high above the turf, Ballard will be looking down at his team and the coach he hired long ago, likely having a few thoughts not suitable for print.