Josh McDaniels Spurning Colts to Stick with Patriots Causes Twitter Explosion

Josh McDaniels isn't heading to the Indianapolis Colts after all.

Hours after the Colts announced they had pegged the New England Patriots offensive coordinator as their new head coach, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported McDaniels chose to renege on his agreement with the Colts and will instead remain the reigning AFC Champions. 

According to Schefter, Patriots owner Robert Kraft made a late push over the last 48 hours and "ultimately wound up sweetening his contract" to keep the 41-year-old in tow. 

Naturally, that move sent NFL Twitter into a frenzy, with The Ringer's Michael Lombardi and Indianapolis Star Colts beat writer Stephen Holder summing things up succinctly: 

Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, meanwhile, noted McDaniels' move likely isn't going to sit well with other organizations: 

One of those clubs could wind up being the Philadelphia Eagles, as B/R's Mike Tanier pointed out, namely because they have three assistants who figure to garner significant interest: 

Elsewhere, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and ESPN.com's Arash Markazi highlighted a parallel between McDaniels and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick: 

The Ringer's Kevin Clark and the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy both joked McDaniels' decision could be the Patriots' version of revenge in the aftermath of Deflategate: 

Here's a look at the best of the rest: 

"

“There’s been a mistake.” pic.twitter.com/SAQ0VMzPVS

— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) February 7, 2018"

With McDaniels staying put, the Colts will now have to pivot to Plan B. 

And as it turns out, they may have been preparing for that possibility all along. 

According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, the Colts "had a feeling" McDaniels could change his mind and already have three candidates lined up to interview over the next two days.