Patience, Not Panic, Leads Colts to Frank Reich

Colts GM Chris Ballard and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spent hours and hours together over the last year, building a relationship and essentially vetting one another. And though McDaniels interviewed for jobs with the Bears and the Giants, Ballard thought his head coach was in the bag. But then McDaniels went back on his word and decided to stay with the Patriots, leaving the Colts without a head coach. Ultimately, he ended up with a coach he never met off his “B” list, Frank Reich. To get Reich, the Indianapolis GM stuck to his plan, and didn’t panic.

“The biggest thing, talking with Jerry Angelo, Bill Polian, Tony Dungy, all three, to a man, it was patience, don’t panic, stay poised if you lose a coach you like,” Ballard explained to Sports Illustrated. “That stuck with me throughout all this, from all three of them. If you lose a coach you like, don’t panic, there’s gonna be a right fit for the organization. It really resonated with Josh saying no, and saying he was staying in New England.