Josh McDaniels reveals why he withdrew from Colts coaching job

Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports

The staging was set.

After Super Bowl LII, New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels would be headed to Indianapolis to take on the head coaching position with the Colts.

Or so he thought.

Two days after the championship game, a very important conversation happened between McDaniels, Patriots’ team owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick. And according to The Boston Globe, that conversation changed everything.

When speaking to the Globe on Monday, McDaniels revealed just what happened to make him stay in New England. The meeting between the three included a contract adjustment.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what the future was,” McDaniels said. “So, where did I fit in? Were there any plans? I just didn’t have much clarity on what my role was here moving forward… Once I heard from Robert and Bill on that Tuesday, it gave me reason to pause and consider this whole situation.”

“When they kind of crystallized that – ‘Hey, here’s what we see going forward and here’s how we would like you to fit into it’ – it gave me a reason to stop and say, ‘All right, what’s the best decision for me?’ And certainly it was difficult. But I made the decision on my own, nobody pushed me into it.”

McDaniels went on to say that the decision “was as difficult a decision as I’ve ever made professionally” and that he never meant to put anyone in an awkward situation. But once he knew the bigger picture with the Patriots, he felt like he made the right choice.

“[Indianapolis] has a tremendous organization and I was lucky to be considered. I just think once I found out [the Patriots’ plans for me], I made the right decision for me and my family at this time.”

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