It has been almost four full years since New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels agreed to take the then-vacant head coach gig for the Indianapolis Colts—only to go back on his word and return to Bill Belichick’s staff.

With the Colts and Patriots set for a Saturday battle at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday—their first since 2018—the question of whether McDaniels has any regrets over the decision came up.

McDaniels told Ryan Hannable of WEEI that he doesn’t regret the decision he made years ago, regardless of what it did for his reputation.

“I think every year I have tried to learn and grow as a coach and as a person. You make decisions in life and in your career that you feel like are the best decisions for you and your familiar, which is certainly what happened then,” McDaniels told WEEI. “You move forward and you do everything you can within your power to make those decisions the right ones. That’s what I’ve tried to do every day. I certainly have no regrets about what has transpired since then.”

Neither do the Colts have any regrets over what happened.

While McDaniels was the hot item of that offseason in terms of coaching additions, the Colts came out in better shape when they had to reevaluate their candidates. This led them to an interview with Frank Reich, whose offense bested the Patriots in the Super Bowl that year.

At the time, it was frustrating for Colts fans. McDaniels went back on his word and essentially left the Colts holding the bag. But they are better off for it with Reich running the ship.

Though we’ll never know for sure, but it’s hard to imagine McDaniels handling all that Reich has been through his first four seasons has head coach.

You won’t convince me that McDaniels wouldn’t have imploded following the Andrew Luck retirement. Luck was probably the main reason McDaniels even had interest in the job in the first place. Reich took it in stride and nearly got the Colts a winning record with Jacoby Brissett as his quarterback.

Reich then brought in Philip Rivers in 2020, and the duo helped lead the way to an 11-5 record and a wild-card berth.

Now, Reich is leading one of the hottest teams in the NFL. One that has been the victor in six of the last eight games and is coming off the bye week with a chance to make a statement against the AFC’s top seed.

McDaniels may have no regrets about spurning the Colts, but you better believe the latter feels as though they dodged a bullet looking back nearly four years later.

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