Josh McDaniels opens up about Colts job fiasco

Four years have passed since Josh McDaniels accepted the Indianapolis Colts head coach job, then backed out at the last second to return to the New England Patriots. The move did not turn out to be the career-ending disaster some predicted, and he sounds like he has no regrets about the decision.

McDaniels was in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine last week, and Peter King of Football Morning in America took the opportunity to ask the Las Vegas Raiders coach about what went down with the Colts. McDaniels admitted that he expected the criticism that came with his decision, but that he had never worried about getting another head coaching offer.

“I understood when we made the decision, when I made the decision not to come to the Colts, that it would be unpopular,” McDaniels said. “I also felt like it was the right thing to do for a number of reasons. I’d never really thought about it day to day, year to year: What if this happens? What if I never get another opportunity? I never stressed about that.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career in the NFL. I’ve been fortunate to be around great people. We’ve been to Super Bowls and done some amazing things. If I never had the opportunity to be a head coach again, I would never look back on it and say, ‘Wow, my career was a failure’ or ‘We didn’t really enjoy our opportunities in the NFL.’ I feel blessed that I have the opportunity to be here as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.”

At the time, McDaniels had said he was “very happy” with his decision to turn down Indianapolis. It sounds like he was serious then, and still doesn’t regret it. He wound up getting another head coaching offer four years later, so it didn’t wind up hurting him long-term despite a number of warnings to the contrary.