Buffalo Bills: Brian Daboll hire may have cost the Colts Josh McDaniels

Josh McDaniels stood up the Colts at the last second and some of the blame could be thrown toward new Buffalo Bills OC Brian Daboll.

On the morning of February 6, the Indianapolis Colts announced via Twitter the team was holding a press conference the next day to announce its new head coach. Mere hours later Adam Schefter tweeted this:

Nobody will truly know the full story of why Josh McDaniels left the Colts at the altar. But there could be some blame thrown toward the Buffalo Bills’ newly minted offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll.

The Bills hired the ex-Alabama coordinator to replace Rick Dennison last month and it’s possible that he could have been a target to replace McDaniels in New England.

Before winning a national title in 2017, Daboll spent 17 years in the NFL with various roles. He broke into the league in 2000 as a defensive coaching assistant with the Patriots. He spent six years with the organization before heading to the Jets as the quarterbacks coach for two seasons.

Daboll ultimately landed three coordinator positions in Cleveland, Miami, and Kansas City, before returning to the Patriots as an offensive assistant. Upon his arrival, McDaniels had glowing remarks about his long-time friend and assistant.

As Black Monday approached and the coaching carousel ensued, Daboll’s name wasn’t flaunted as a marquee name teams should pursue.

Obviously, Buffalo’s front office felt differently. But maybe another AFC East division rival had an eye on him too.

To reiterate, Daboll spent 11 of his 17 years coaching under Bill Belichick. In that time he was never able to obtain the reigns of the playbook. But with the departure of McDaniels, perhaps Daboll was a serious contender to replace the long-time Patriots coordinator. He knows the city, the playbook, and the players. And Daboll is a proven winner with four Super Bowls and a NCAA national title.

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What more could the Patriots ask for?

Well, evidently, since Daboll is no longer available the Patriots decided to “sweeten the pot” and ask for McDaniels to stay instead.

Sure, there are definitely some other reasons for why McDaniels opted to stay with the Pats whether its familiarity, stability, or family implications.

Some even think it’s Kraft sticking it to the Colts for the Deflategate scandal.

But I can’t help but think that Buffalo taking Daboll off the market had a hand in the Patriots’ eagerness to keep their coach in the New England area.

Next: 5 reasons Daboll was a good hire

What do you think?