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Any time New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels coaches against the Indianapolis Colts, there is a slight bit of awkwardness.
How often does a coach get an opportunity to go up against the team they agreed to coach, but left at the alter after reneging? It’s pretty rare, but that’s exactly the situation with McDaniels and the Colts.
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Despite the messy and abrupt break-up there doesn’t appear to be much second-guessing.
According to the Providence Journal’s Mark Daniels, Josh McDaniels isn’t regretful about his decision to reneg on the Colts’ head-coaching opportunity back in 2018. McDaniels said he’s “very fortunate to be where I’m at,” but maintains he is happy for the Colts’ current success.
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Since the Colts had to regroup and hire Frank Reich (five days later) as their head coach. Indy is 35-26 under Reich and they have qualified for the playoffs in two of his three full seasons. Heading into the crucial Saturday night game against the Patriots, the Colts are 7-6 and firmly in the postseason picture.
With McDaniels in the midst of playing an integral role in the building of what looks like one of the next great young quarterbacks in Mac Jones, it appears both sides have prospered by not joining forces.
What Will Josh McDaniels’ Next Job Be?
At some point, McDaniels is going to want to be a head coach and there will be another set of jobs available again this offseason. The Jacksonville Jaguars have already fired Urban Meyer, and you can almost bet the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans will be looking for a new head coach.
It’s also possible, the Carolina Panthers and a couple other coaches could also be in the market for a new lead guy on the sidelines. McDaniels’ name will be mentioned in conjunction with one or more of those opportunities.
Will he jump at the opportunity to take one of those jobs? He has a solid position currently, so McDaniels is in a spot where he can be picky. That’s probably why he ultimately chose not to coach the Colts.
There’s also the chance that he will one day succeed Bill Belichick.
How Much Longer Will Bill Belichick Coach?
Will McDaniels get tired of waiting on Belichick to hang up his hoodie? It’s possible. Belichick is 69 years old, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
He is in the midst of what some consider his best coaching performance with the 2021 team. While he doesn’t discuss it much, there is a belief that Belichick would like to catch Miami Dolphins and Colts legend Don Shula to become the winningest coach in professional football history.
Including the postseason, Belichick has 320 and Shula finished his legendary career at 347. Belichick could get potentially be in a position to pass Shula toward the end of 2023 if the Patriots continue to play well. Would McDaniels serve as his offensive coordinator for–at least–two more years?
That might be a tough ask, especially if McDaniels starts to get wooed by teams with great young quarterbacks for him to develop. We shall see, but for now, McDaniels and the Patriots will try to beat the guy who was called in as the second option after he changed his mind.
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