Colts make smart hire in Josh McDaniels

Who knows how things are going to play out for Josh McDaniels and the Indianapolis Colts. McDaniels has already been an NFL head coach and saw how things can swing wildly. He started his first season 5-0 before being fired halfway through his second.

McDaniels, 41, is reportedly now accepting the head job with the Colts, a franchise that hasn’t reached the playoffs since his current team, the New England Patriots, famously beat them 45-7 in the DeflateGate Bowl. For Indianapolis, time is of the essence. Superstar quarterback Andrew Luck ishitting his prime – assuming he’s healthy – at the age of 28.

Frankly, this entire hire is based off the idea of Luck being 100 percent by the time the 2018 regular season rolls around. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Stanford missed all of 2017 after being delayed time and again in his return from shoulder surgery, prompting questions if he’ll ever be the same again.

If not, McDaniels is in very tough position. The offensive wiz kid would be without the epicenter of his offense, and with all due respect to T.Y. Hilton and Jacoby Brissett, they won’t be saving his job. General manager Chris Ballard and owner Jim Irsay are swinging big with an offensive-minded head coach after going with the opposite in Chuck Pagano for five years. Initially, the Pagano hire worked. With the Colts winning three AFC South titles and going one step further in the playoffs each of his first three years at the helm. Then, injuries to Luck and a stagnant message sunk that ship, leading to a regime change.

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If the Colts are going to improve, Josh McDaniels and Luck must become a strong duo at the top. Indianapolis has ample cap space and high draft choices to utilize this upcoming offseason. Making an overhaul of this roster is a short-term fix in comparison to other places. Still, if McDaniels can’t get the best of Luck, nothing else is going to matter.

Ultimately, this was the right move for Indianapolis. Josh McDaniels was the best hire out there in the eyes of most NFL personnel men, and the Colts were able to reel him in. The Ohio native clearly believes in Luck both talent and health-wise, or he would have taken a pass. This might be McDaniels’ last chance to prove his worth as a head coach, and considering age and durability, Luck might be facing similar pressure.

McDaniels and Luck could be a match made in heaven, and so Indianapolis hit a home run with this hire. If things go south, nobody can blame the Colts for falling short in their coaching search.