Colts GM Chris Ballard Warns Patriots: The Rivalry Is Back On
Indianapolis Colts GM Chris Ballard has reignited his team’s feud with the New England Patriots. During a press conference on Wednesday, Ballard said the rivalry between the two teams is “back on.” The press conference was focused on Josh McDaniels’ decision to renege on a decision to be the Colts’ head coach, the NFL website reports. McDaniels’ choice to pull out of the agreement means that he will stay on as The Patriots’ offensive coordinator.
“After agreeing to contract terms to become the Indianapolis Colts’ new head coach, New England Patriots assistant coach Josh McDaniels this evening informed us that he would not be joining our team,” the Colts confirmed in a statement. “Although we are surprised and disappointed, we will resume our head coaching search immediately and find the right fit to lead our team and organization on and off the field.”
According to the NFL website, McDaniels has put the Colts in an awkward position. They now have to continue looking for a head coach. Also, a team of assistant coaches has signed contracts under the assumption that they would be working with him.
The Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots have a long-time rivalry. The feud culminated with the Deflategate controversy that erupted after the AFC Championship game in 2014.
At the press conference, Ballard said that he wasn’t interested in the reasons that McDaniels had for choosing to stay in New England. He stressed that his team has a lot of work to do moving forward, so they require a head coach that’s fully committed to the Colts.
"We will get the right leader for the Indianapolis Colts."
More from GM Chris Ballard: https://t.co/EFFafqjJuN pic.twitter.com/atD9kENaZd
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) February 7, 2018
McDaniels never signed a contract with the Colts but the team scheduled a press conference on Wednesday to introduce him as their new head coach. Instead of canceling the presser, Ballard used it as an opportunity to inform the media on how the team plans to deal with McDaniels’ decision.
Josh McDaniels agent told him he was making "perhaps the biggest professional mistake of his career" by backing out on the Colts, per @MikeGarafolo https://t.co/2xGkmQeNrq pic.twitter.com/1xawopO0sZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 7, 2018
As CBS Sports reports, the Colts GM said that they did not try to persuade McDaniels to join the Colts after he decided to keep on being Bill Belichick’s understudy. But he added that he didn’t have any indication that the Patriots offensive coordinator was having second thoughts about upgrading to head coach at another team. Ballard said that he wished McDaniels well but that he may not have been the best choice even though he was their first choice. He did not offer any names of potential head coaches they would be pursuing next.
