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Indianapolis Colts News & Rumors

Colts Request Second Interview With Josh McDaniels

January 21st, 2018 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The Colts have requested a second head coaching interview with Josh McDaniels, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Of course, this is just a formality as McDaniels is widely reported to have already accepted the job. Josh McDaniels (vertical)

The Colts cannot make the hiring of McDaniels official until after the Patriots’ season is over. That means any plans for an introductory press conference will have to wait until after the Super Bowl on Feb. 4. However, the Colts can use the time between now and the big game to plan for the future.

The staff around McDaniels is already coming together. Last week, the team formalized plans to hire Raiders quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz as their new offensive coordinator and Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus as the club’s new defensive coordinator.

McDaniels will be tasked with turning the Colts around after a disappointing 4-12 season. On the plus side, they own the No. 3 pick in the draft and they may have their choice between North Carolina State pass rusher Bradley Chubb or Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

Updated 2018 NFL Draft Order

January 21st, 2018 at 9:16pm CST by Zachary Links

With the conference championship games in the books, we now know the draft order for 30 of the first round’s 32 picks. Here’s the rundown:

1. Cleveland Browns (0-16)

2. New York Giants (3-13)

3. Indianapolis Colts (4-12)

4. Cleveland Browns (via the 4-12 Houston Texans)

5. Denver Broncos (5-11)

6. New York Jets (5-11)

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-11)

8. Chicago Bears (5-11)

T-9. Oakland Raiders (6-10)

T-9. San Francisco 49ers (6-10) (Note: The Raiders and 49ers have identical records and the same strength of schedule. The tie will be broken by a coin flip with the winner getting pick No. 9 and the other club receiving the No. 10 pick.)

11. Miami Dolphins (6-10)

12. Cincinnati Bengals (7-9)

13. Washington Redskins (7-9)

14. Green Bay Packers (7-9)

15. Arizona Cardinals (8-8)

16. Baltimore Ravens (9-7)

17. Los Angeles Chargers (9-7)

18. Seattle Seahawks (9-7)

19. Dallas Cowboys (9-7)

20. Detroit Lions (9-7)

21. Buffalo Bills (9-7)

22. Buffalo Bills (via the 10-6 Kansas City Chiefs)

23. Los Angeles Rams (11-5)

24. Carolina Panthers (11-5)

25. Tennessee Titans (9-7)

26. Atlanta Falcons (10-6)

27. New Orleans Saints (11-5)

28. Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3)

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6)

30. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)

31. (New England Patriots (13-3) or Philadelphia Eagles (13-3))

32. (New England Patriots (13-3) or Philadelphia Eagles (13-3))

McDaniels Not Worried About Luck's Status

January 21st, 2018 at 10:39am CST by Sam Robinson
  • Josh McDaniels was only seriously interested in the Colts and Giants‘ jobs, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe notes, adding that the Titans could have had a shot at the Patriots’ OC had they fired Mularkey late in what was an inconsistent regular season. McDaniels and Jon Robinson worked together in New England.
  • Volin adds McDaniels is not scared off by Andrew Luck‘s recent health history despite the Colts having redshirted their cornerstone performer this season. Luck still doesn’t have a firm timetable to return, but McDaniels signing on points to confidence he will be back come 2018.
  • Josh McDaniels may well look to bring his younger brother with him to Indianapolis, Volin writes. The 37-year-old Ben McDaniels worked as a Bears offensive assistant for the past two seasons. He also served in that role for the 2009 Broncos before Josh McDaniels promoted him to quarterbacks coach in 2010, so it appears likely the brothers will reunite with the Colts soon.

Will Colts Pick Chubb Or Barkley?

January 19th, 2018 at 11:41am CST by Zachary Links
  • With the No. 3 pick in the draft, should the Colts go with pass rusher Bradley Chubb or running back Saquon Barkley? Mike Wells of ESPN.com stacked the two standouts against each other but argued that they can’t go wrong with either one since they both fill a position of need. There is a bit of a stigma around taking a running back high in the draft, but the Rams, Cowboys, and Jaguars have gotten 1,000-yard seasons out of Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Leonard Fournette.

NFL Workout Updates: 1/17/18

January 17th, 2018 at 8:40pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/17/18

January 17th, 2018 at 5:34pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2018 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:

Buffalo Bills

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

New York Jets

  • P Ben Turk

Colts Expected To Hire Jake Peetz As OC

January 16th, 2018 at 5:44pm CST by Dallas Robinson

When Josh McDaniels officially accepts the Colts’ head coaching job (something he’s fully expected to do once the Patriots’ postseason run concludes), he intends to hire Raiders quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz as Indianapolis’ next offensive coordinator, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).Jake Peetz (Vertical)

[RELATED: 2018 NFL Coordinator Tracker]

While McDaniels is still in coaching limbo for the time being, his numerous years in the NFL have allowed him to quickly formulate a coaching staff. Peetz isn’t the only presumptive hire that McDaniels has made with an eye towards the Colts job, as Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reported Monday that Indianapolis is also expected to bring in Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus as the club’s new defensive play-caller.

Peetz, 34, doesn’t figure to run the Colts’ offense, as McDaniels has made his name in the NFL by calling offensive plays. Still, Peetz — who spent only one season as the QBs coach in Oakland — figures to work closely with Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck, prepare a weekly gameplan, and help install the Colts’ new offensive scheme.

Peetz has worked his way through the collegiate and NFL ranks in fairly short order, as he was working as a safeties/strength coach as recently as 2006. He was subsequently employed by the Jaguars as both as a scout and an offensive assistant before spending time with the University of Alabama, the Redskins, and — most recently — the Raiders.

Colts Expected To Hire Matt Eberflus As DC

January 15th, 2018 at 2:29pm CST by Sam Robinson

After seven seasons as the Cowboys’ linebackers coach, Matt Eberflus is set to receive his first coordinator opportunity.

Once Josh McDaniels officially takes the Colts’ reins, he’s expected to bring Eberflus with him as his defensive coordinator, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (on Twitter). Eberflus is a coaching free agent, so the Cowboys won’t be able to block this hire.

Eberflus also spent two seasons coaching the Browns’ linebackers. He’ll ascend to a DC position under McDaniels. SI.com’s Albert Breer reported this likely chain of events last week.

While the coaches have not worked together on an NFL staff, they are both Ohio natives, with Eberflus hailing from Toledo and McDaniels (son of a high school coach) growing up around the Cleveland area. Working under Rod Marinelli in recent years, Eberflus has coached Sean Lee for most of his career.

He’ll have a chance to oversee the development of a young Colts linebacking contingent. The Cowboys have run a 4-3 scheme under Marinelli, while the Colts have used a 3-4 look for the past several seasons. It will be interesting to see if they convert back to a 4-3 look under Eberflus.

Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk writes Eberflus, who took on the responsibility of passing-game coordinator in 2016, looked to be in line to succeed Marinelli in running Dallas’ defense. The Cowboys have lost several assistants this offseason.

Josh McDaniels Expected To Choose Colts

January 15th, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

Although a report emerged on Sunday indicating the Colts were moving forward with Josh McDaniels as their head coach, the Titans’ firing muddied those plans. But it looks like that will be a momentary blip.

McDaniels is expected to choose the Colts and become their head coach, Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report (Twitter link). This will come after the Titans — and former McDaniels Patriots colleague Jon Robinson — were expressing interest.

No offer has been made, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star notes (on Twitter), but he adds the Colts don’t appear to be nervous about the Titans’ late entrance into this race. The Colts cannot formally offer McDaniels this job until the Patriots’ season concludes.

However, the Colts and McDaniels have been connected to going forward together since late last week when he and Texans first-year DC Mike Vrabel became the finalists for this position. McDaniels has 10 years of OC experience (nine with the Patriots and one with the Rams) and was the Broncos’ head coach for most of the 2009-10 seasons. Although that partnership did not work out, McDaniels has continued to churn out top-tier offenses in New England.

While the 41-year-old OC has enjoyed the benefit of having one of the greatest quarterbacks off all time around which to center his offense, Tom Brady has also done his best work under McDaniels. Prior to McDaniels taking over as Patriots OC in 2006, Brady had one 4,000-yard passing season and had never thrown more than 28 TD passes in a campaign. While Brady thrived under Bill O’Brien while McDaniels was in Denver and St. Louis, he’s maintained top-level play at an age when most quarterbacks have retired slowed down.

McDaniels interviewed with the Colts, Bears and Giants — and as of Monday morning was still in contention for the Giants’ job. But Chicago went with former Chiefs OC Matt Nagy, and the Giants are expected to offer their HC job to Pat Shurmur. The Titans entered the race late but were not believed to be a serious Colts threat. Chris Ballard and his likely HC hire share an agent in Bob LaMonte, and have a “strong relationship” — per Rapoport (on Twitter).

McDaniels will be the person tasked with restoring Andrew Luck as one of the NFL’s premier quarterbacks.

Colts Still Favorites For Josh McDaniels?

January 15th, 2018 at 12:03pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans shook up the coaching race on Monday morning by backtracking on their Mike Mularkey decision, and this could throw a wrench into the Colts’ plans for Josh McDaniels.

But it’s looking like the Colts are still the frontrunners to land the Patriots’ OC. The Titans indeed are interested in McDaniels, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports tweets, but have “little to no shot” of landing him. Describing the Colts as “heavy favorites,” La Canfora adds (Twitter link) McDaniels and Matt Patricia‘s respective paths to Indianapolis and Detroit are still believed to be on track.

Tom Pelissero of NFL.com describes the Colts and McDaniels as having “strong mutual interest.” McDaniels and Chris Ballard share an agent. An NFL rule would allow the Titans to speak with assistant coaches whose teams are still alive in the postseason on Jan. 28, provided they previously interviewed for another team’s HC job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (on Twitter).

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