The New England Patriots saw plenty of their 2017 key contributors leave the team over the course of the offseason. Among the group of high-profile exits is defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who is now the head coach of the Detroit Lions. Patricia was nearly joined by a second Patriots’ coordinator: offensive play caller Josh McDaniels was nearly hired as the next head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
However, a last-second turnaround guaranteed that the Patriots’ offensive coordinator of the last six years remained in New England. Earlier today, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared details of how the organization made sure to keep McDaniels around:
The Patriots gave him a five-year contract, which is huge [and] basically never happens for a coordinator. From what I am told, he’s being paid like a first-time head coach – the highest-paid coordinator in football by far. At one point his contract eclipses four million dollars per year.
The length of the contract is an intriguing detail: with head coach Bill Belichick 66 years old, McDaniels’ deal could very much make him the Hall of Famer’s heir. Together with director of player personnel Nick Caserio, the team would then be set on top for the foreseeable future. Of course, a lot can still happen until Belichick really decides to call it a career – but at least as things stand right now, the Patriots appear to be at least somewhat prepared for life after the greatest head coach in pro football history.