After some speculation that the deal would not get done, Josh McDaniels has been hired as the Indianapolis Colts' head coach. The club made the announcement Tuesday morning.
McDaniels's hiring completes the 2017-18 NFL hiring cycle, filling the last of the seven openings to emerge this winter. His hiring also means Bill Belichick must replace both of his coordinators; Matt Patricia was announced as the Detroit Lions' head coach on Monday.
Still only 41, McDaniels already has more than a decade as a top-level NFL coach. A former graduate assistant for Nick Saban at Michigan State, McDaniels joined the Patriots' organization as a personnel assistant in 2001, then worked as a defensive assistant in 2002-03. He moved to quarterbacks coach for the 2004-05 seasons, and was promoted to offensive coordinator from 2006-08.
That success earned him the Denver Broncos' head coaching job in 2009. He led the Broncos to an 8-8 mark in his first season, but was fired after a 3-9 start in 2010. He spent the 2011 season as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams, then returned to New England in the same capacity in 2012.
McDaniels was on staff for all five of the Patriots' Super Bowl wins under Bill Belichick, and for all but one of their eight Super Bowl trips under the current regime.
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He takes over an Indianapolis Colts franchise looking to rebound after three straight playoff-free seasons following a run of two straight AFC South titles and trips to the second weekend of the NFL playoffs in 2013-14. McDaniels's key charge will be to reinvigorate a (hopefully healthy) Andrew Luck while re-tooling the rest of the roster around him. Luck did not play at all in the 2017 season, and has not played a complete season since 2014.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.