The only reason Frank Reich is head coach of the Indianapolis Colts is because New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out from the position at the last minute.
In February, the Colts were in the final stages of introducing McDaniels as their new head coach. But at the last minute, the 42-year-old decided to retain his OC role with the Patriots, leaving the Indianapolis head coaching gig open.
That's where the Colts went with Plan B, hiring Reich - offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles - to replace the fired Chuck Pagano. While many believe McDaniels will eventually succeed Bill Belichick as head coach in Foxborough, Reich is thrilled with how things played out.
"Very glad about that (McDaniels' decision to stay). Certainly very glad about that," Reich said to Patriots reporters, via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Certainly very glad about that. It’s a funny league, strange circumstances, lot of things out of my control, so I can try to control the controllables and thankful for the opportunity that I have."
McDaniels has been on the staff for all five Patriots' Super Bowl championships in the 21st century. He worked with the Patriots from 2001-08, before taking on the Denver Broncos' head coaching gig in 2009. However, McDaniels was fired during the 2010 season, compiling an 11-17 record.
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The Patriots lost defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who took the Detroit Lions' head coaching position. Just when it looked like McDaniels was going to follow Patricia out, he decided to stay in Foxborough.
Though the Colts are off to a mere 1-3 start, quarterback Andrew Luck is playing at an MVP level, after missing all of 2017 due to shoulder surgery. Indianapolis' defense has also been much better than expected, keeping them in close games that wound up being losses.
2018 was a rebuilding year for the Colts, whose main goal this season was to have a healthy and effective Luck. Reich has checked that box so far, and there's little reason to doubt his ability to eventually turn this team back into a contender.
The Colts and Patriots meet on Thursday Night Football this week. We'll see if Reich can lead his team to an upset victory over the team that essentially handed him the keys to his first NFL head coaching job.
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