Josh McDaniels Officially Named Head Coach Of Indianapolis Colts
Update: Josh McDaniels has declined the Colts head coaching job and will remain with the Patriots.
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are now in the market for a new offensive coordinator.
Josh McDaniels was officially named the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday. This will be McDaniels' second head coaching job after spending a season and a half in Denver.
McDaniels served as New England's offensive coordinator for nine years over two stints, first from 2006-2008 and then again starting in 2012. He oversaw some of Tom Brady's best offensive seasons, though the fact that it was Tom Brady helped quite a bit. McDaniels spent 14 seasons with the Patriots overall, starting as a personnel assistant in 2001. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach in 2004, a title he held during both of his runs as Patriots offensive coordinator. He was part of the Patriots for all five of the franchise's Super Bowl titles.
He now heads to Indianapolis to work his quarterback magic on Andrew Luck, who missed the 2017 with a shoulder injury. The 28-year-old Luck led the NFL with 40 touchdown passes in 2014 and after an injury-shortened campaign in 2015, threw for 4,240 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2016.
The Colts fired head coach Chuck Pagano after a 4-12 campaign in 2017, the third straight season Indianapolis missed the playoffs.
The pressure is on McDaniels to turn the Colts around quickly. He got off to a hot start when he first took over the Broncos, despite some offseason turmoil that led to Denver trading starting quarterback Jay Cutler, starting the season 6-0. But Denver struggled down the stretch and finished the year 8-8, and McDaniels was fired after a 3-9 start the following season.
With Tuesday's news, the Patriots now need to find a new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Matt Patricia was officially named the new head coach of the Detroit Lions on Tuesday. New England wide receivers coach Chad O'Shea is the favorite to get the offensive coordinator job if Bill Belichick chooses to promote from inside the organization.
Update: McDaniels is taking a pair of New England assistants with him to Indy. According to WEEI, special teams coach Joe Judge will join McDaniels' staff, while ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that McDaniels will also take assistant quarterbacks coach Jerry Schuplinski to Indianapolis.
