Oh, there was outrage coming out of Indianapolis after Josh McDaniels changed his decision to be the Colts’ head coach less than 24 hours after verbally agreeing to take the job. Instead, McDaniels clearly felt his role as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator was still a better option for next season.
Can anyone really blame him, though? His choices were to stay with a team in the Patriots and potentially be the successor to Bill Belichick or join the Colts organization with an owner who despises everything New England and a quarterback in Andrew Luck who doesn’t even know if he’ll ever play in the NFL again.
It’s actually more surprising that McDaniels ever agreed to become Indianapolis’ head coach in the first place.
A bunch of people who cover the league are now convinced that McDaniels will never get another head coaching opportunity outside of New England after his decision to reconsider working for Jim Irsay. But that really doesn’t seem likely.
A number of coaches in NFL history have been given second chances to become a head coach again, despite their poor decision-making in the past.
Look no further than current Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone. He suddenly left the Buffalo Bills after the 2014 season, thinking he could land a better coaching gig elsewhere. Marrone’s plan did not go accordingly and he had to settle for a job as the assistant head coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015.
Yet two seasons later, Marrone was an NFL head coach again after the Jaguars removed his interim tag during the 2017 offseason. All he did last year was lead Jacksonville to the AFC Championship and the team’s highest win total since 2007.
It’s not like McDaniels crashed a motorcycle with his mistress riding on the back or anything like that. And that embarrassment didn’t even prevent Bobby Petrino from getting another head coaching job.
At least McDaniels left the Colts before the team could have his introductory press conference. Petrino quit his job as the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach in 2007 with three games still left to play in the season.
He also let Falcons players know by leaving a small, four-sentence letter in each of their lockers. Current Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was Petrino’s defensive coordinator in Atlanta that season and his reaction to Petrino bailing was one most should have expected.
“He came in and said he resigned, he would talk to us all at a later date, walked out of the office and no one has ever talked to him since. Not that anybody wanted to.
He’s a gutless bastard. Quote that. I don’t give a shit.”
Despite all of that, Petrino has had three more head coaching jobs since. They have all been college jobs, but at least three people have felt he still deserved millions of dollars despite his embarrassing past.
McDaniels doesn’t look so bad now, does he?
There are plenty of people around the NFL who would likely be willing to offer McDaniels a head coaching job in the future. Another season of the Patriots being atop the league’s offensive rankings would basically be like Will Smith using that memory eraser thing from Men In Black.
Whoever does end up offering McDaniels another head coaching opportunity just better make sure a contract is signed before making any official Twitter posts.
