Most teams find themselves scrambling for answers after a championship loss. The New England Patriots, however, have handled this loss very differently. After the initial defeat, the Patriots appeared to be in disarray. Bill Belichick’s future was uncertain, Tom Brady had to constantly answer questions about his future with the team, and even Rob Gronkowski was uncertain if he would play next year. On top of all that, we knew that New England was going to have to replace both their offensive and defensive coordinators, with Matt Patricia leaving for the Detroit Lions and Josh McDaniels set to become the next head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. However, things weren’t falling apart as much as they seemed to be.
While it’s official that Patricia is headed to Detroit, McDaniels backed down from the job with the Indianapolis Colts. This was a stunning move, as McDaniels seemed ready to take on the role of an NFL head coach, and given the apparent turmoil in the Patriots organization, it seemed like a good time to leave. Not to mention: he would be joining the Colts, with the chance to coach a top tier quarterback in Andrew Luck. It seemed like the perfect fit for a young coach looking to make his mark.
However, McDaniels has invested a lot of time in New England, and for a long time seemed to be the heir apparent to Bill Belichick. The Colts job cast doubt on that notion, but since McDaniels turned down the Colts offer, it is safe to say that his commitment to the Patriots organization is stronger now than ever—especially given that he turned down a team with the third overall pick and a top five quarterback to remain in New England.
Obviously, we know that Robert Kraft “sweetened” the contract for McDaniels, but it would take a little more than that to convince him to stay. There is no question that McDaniels is ready for a head coaching opportunity, and I think the only way he would wait is if he was assured that the job is his after Belichick retires, and that Belichick’s retirement is coming sooner rather than later.
A recent report suggests that Belichick will spend the 2018 season mentoring McDaniels on player development and front office work. These were areas that McDaniels struggled with during his first head coaching stint in Denver. These reports undoubtedly point toward Belichick preparing McDaniels to be the next head coach of the Patriots. He has already spent most of his professional career under the tutelage of Belichick, and it seems that, eventually, his patience will pay off. All we know right now is that McDaniels will be calling plays for Brady and New England’s offense, and that Belichick will still be there as the game’s best head coach. With all those things considered, it would be foolish not to expect the Patriots to be back in the Super Bowl next season, with hopefully a better outcome this time around.