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The Patriots are traveling to Indiana this week to play the Colts, marking the first time since 2015 that the two teams will meet in Indianapolis.
That also means it’s the first time New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will coach at Lucas Oil Stadium since he left the Colts at the proverbial altar back in 2018 when he changed his mind about becoming the organization’s head coach after Super Bowl LII.
Indianapolis went on to hire Frank Reich and has made it to the postseason twice in his tenure.
McDaniels has received interviews but hasn’t landed a head coaching job. But when asked this week how he’s changed since electing to stick with New England, McDaniels didn’t seem to think he made the wrong choice.
“I think every year I have tried to learn and grow as a coach and as a person. You make decisions in life and in your career that you feel like are the best decisions for you and your familiar, which is certainly what happened then,” McDaniels said, via Ryan Hannable of WEEI. “You move forward and you do everything you can within your power to make those decisions the right ones. That’s what I’ve tried to do every day. I certainly have no regrets about what has transpired since then.
“I know they have done a great job. They have a tremendous staff. Coach Reich does a great job. [G.M.] Chris Ballard is obviously tremendous in his role in what they do in their organization is pretty special. I’ve learned a lot being here. This is a great place to be. I learn from Bill daily, weekly under his guidance. He really challenges me to try and improve each year and I have tried to do that myself. That’s really what any of us can do, but very fortunate to be where I am at and I am looking forward to this week.”
One could argue McDaniels certainly made the right choice, given that the Patriots won the Super Bowl in the 2018 season and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck retired abruptly in Aug. 2019. Plus, the Patriots now control their own outcome for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
But if the Colts or Indianapolis as a whole still harbors some negative feelings toward McDaniels, it’s a little hard to blame them.
