Back in 2018, former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels decided to stay in New England after accepting the job as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and we are starting to get some details as to why.
At the time, it was reported by Pro Football Talk that McDaniels had “concern” about working with Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
“PFT had heard in recent days that McDaniels did indeed have those concerns, but that efforts were made to persuade McDaniels to make the leap of faith,” per PFT. “He did so reluctantly, and then he didn’t. And now, as one source put it to PFT, there will be a ‘major storm of shit’ over this one.”
Now, nearly five years later, we are getting more details about those “concerns” which are centered around Irsay taking too long int he bathroom during a visit with McDaniels and his family at their home in Massachusetts.
Per NFL insider Dan Dakich and his “great” sources within the Colts, Irsay spent “close to an hour” in the restroom and freaked out McDaniels’s wife Laura with other strange behavior during his visit:
Dakich didn’t go into details on what Irsay was allegedly doing that as so odd or why he was in the bathroom for so long, but an obvious assumption would lead people to connect Irsay’s issues with drugs and alcohol. In 2014, Irsay was arrested after a police officer spotted him driving erratically and various prescription drugs were found in hi vehicle along with more than $29,000 in cash.
Irsay later admitted to a judge that he was under the influence of the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone when he was arrested. Following a stint in rehab, Irsay pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving while intoxicated and was ordered to submit for drug testing and abstain from drinking alcohol for a year.
For what it’s worth, Colts general manager Chris Ballard said he never got an explanation about why McDaniels backed out of the job in Indy. “I didn’t want the explanation. Either you’re in or you’re out,” Ballard said. “That’s his prerogative and that’s his choice. He chose not to be an Indianapolis Colt.”
