Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spurns Colts' head coaching job he'd already taken after Patriots sweeten his contract

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February 7, 2018 1:16 AM

Josh McDaniels backed out of an agreement with the Colts, instead staying with the Patriots in a shocking move.

Josh McDaniels spurned the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job to stay with the New England Patriots, according to a report.
McDaniels had agreed to terms with the Colts, and the team had announced the agreement, but he had reportedly not signed a contract.
The Patriots' owner, Robert Kraft, reportedly persuaded McDaniels to stay by "sweetening" his deal.

Josh McDaniels reneged on an agreement to become the Indianapolis Colts' head coach, instead remaining the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots in a shocking move, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Patriots' owner, Robert Kraft, reportedly got involved in talks the past two days, eventually "sweetening" McDaniels' offer to keep him in New England.

The Colts had already announced McDaniels' hiring, even tweeting links to a story about McDaniels' background and announcing the live-streaming of his introductory press conference.

We are excited to welcome J... @ Indianapolis Colts

According to Schefter, McDaniels had already been reconsidering the agreement and had not signed a contract with the Colts yet.

There were rumors about McDaniels staying in New England on Sunday before the Patriots' Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio had tweeted that there were rumors of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick retiring and McDaniels staying to take his job. He later reported there was "increasing chatter" that McDaniels may not leave, regardless of Belichick's future.

According to Schefter, McDaniels would still like to become a head coach again after his brief time in that role for the Denver Broncos, but the more he thought about taking the Colts' job the less it appealed to him.

The Colts released a statement saying they were "surprised and disappointed" by McDaniels' decision and would continue with their search.

McDaniels' decision to stay could alleviate what seemed likely to be turbulent offseason for the Patriots, and it leaves the Colts scrambling for a new coach.

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