Did Josh McDaniels Hint That He Came Back to Succeed Belichick as Head Coach?
Josh McDaniels in the Globe, talking for the first time about his decision to go all Runaway Bride on the Colts and stay in New England:
I wasn’t 100 percent sure what the future was. I just hadn’t had any clarity on that. So, where did I fit in? Were there any plans? I just didn’t have much clarity on what my role was here moving forward. Once I heard from Robert and Bill on that Tuesday, it just gave me reason to pause and consider this whole situation. …
Look, I’m privileged to have the opportunity to do that and when they kind of crystallized that — ‘Hey, here’s what we see going forward and here’s how we would like you to fit into it’ — it gave me a reason to stop and say, ‘all right, what’s the best decision for me?’ And certainly it was difficult. But I made the decision on my own, nobody pushed me into it.’
I honestly don’t think there’s a man, woman or child alive who has pushed back harder against the rampant speculation, negative conjecture and flat out made up lies about all the supposed inner turmoil going on with this Patriots team. So far in 2018 it’s been a full time job. But in this one instance at least, if you’re someone reading into McDaniels explanation, reading between the lines and hearing “I stayed because they promised me I’ll take over for Belichick,” you are not being unreasonable. For once.
I really don’t know how else to interpret his words. He’s talking about “clarity” on his “role” “moving forward.” Which can only mean that he saw a future of being the offensive coordinator here. And then after that conversation on the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, Belichick and Mr. Kraft offered him a future of some other thing. And what else is there? He didn’t leave the Colts standing in the church looking stupid to become the Offensive Coordinator Emeritus. Or Assistant to the Regional Head Coach. At least I can’t envision any scenario where he’d be talking about a new, “crystallized” “opportunity” going forward that he now fits into in some new way that didn’t exist before that meeting.
Obviously, I don’t say this casually. Whenever I’ve considered the possibility of Belichick’s retirement, it’s always the same scenario. He unzips his human skin outer layer revealing he’s a formless being of pure energy, moves off to inhabit some other corporeal body and is back at training camp, twirling his whistle to Bon Jovi music and telling old Rick Forzano stories for another 50 years. But you don’t have to twist McDaniels’ answer too much into an illogical pretzel to have it sound like his coach has seen an end in sight and wants him next in line of succession to the throne. Of course I’m assuming, but it’s not a huge assumption.
And let’s assume there’s some truth to it. The obvious question is “when”? I talked to a Patriots media guy personally who said there’s one rumor going around that Belichick works full time through this upcoming draft, then goes upstairs to become the full time GM only. Which is sheer lunacy on so many levels. First of all, there is nothing about the man that makes him seem even the tiniest bit worn out. Or sick of coaching. Whether it’s seeing him working one-on-one with some prospect at his Pro Day or on the sidelines in a game on one knee barking adjustments at his defensive line, he’s the same guy he was in New York back in the late 80s. And besides, why would a guy in good health, with the most championshippy record in the modern era, and another title contending team waiting for him in Foxboro next July end his career on that Super Bowl? With one star player throwing for 500 yards in a loss and another in tears the whole game?
I would not rule out that Belichick sees an end to his coaching days in sight. In five years he’ll be 70. He mentioned once before he had no desire to be coaching into his 70s “like Marv Levy.” Brady’s looking to play another four or five years and you’d be nuts to bet against it. Belichick has two sons on his coaching staff and that’s time to get them some job experience. And based on him saying things like “We’re going to have a team next year. We’re going to have a team the year after that, so we kind of look at as many factors as you can with this year taking the priority. But it can’t be absolute. You have to have a balance in future years,” it’s clear his coaching retirement is not coming any time soon.
And in 5 years, Josh McDaniels will be 46 years old. Or the exact same age Bill Belchick was when he started his second head coaching job. In New England. But still, I’m going back to that “pure energy” theory and thinking about this no more.