In law, normally there’s no deal until there’s a deal.
Don’t tell that to the Indianapolis Colts.
On Tuesday night, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the stunning news: New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had unexpectedly withdrawn from an agreement in principle to become the Colts’ next head coach. In a subsequent statement, the Colts expressed that McDaniels had notified the team of his withdrawal only after “agreeing to contract terms.” While McDaniels may have agreed to key contractual terms, it does not appear that he signed an actual employment contract.
It is unclear why the 41-year-old McDaniels, who served as head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2009, would back out at the last second.