Here I go again, talking about the New England Patriots. You would think that after writing a blog called "The Patriot Way" and another called "The Patriot Way Redux" that I would get sick of writing about the team that everyone outside of the northeastern United States loves to hate! Well, unfortunately (if you are tired of hearing about them) or fortunately (if you are tired of hearing about them but at least appreciate the lessons they can provide), they keep providing some really good lessons on leadership. My comments have nothing at all to do with their recent loss in Super Bowl LII (though there are probably some good ones in there to discuss). Rather, I want to focus on one particular individual in the Patriots organization - in this case, their current Offensive Coordinator, Josh McDaniels.
If you haven't heard, Josh McDaniels at least had a gentleman's agreement to be the next Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts. For at least the last two weeks up to the Super Bowl, rumors had been swirling that McDaniels was the leading candidate for the Colts' job. Similarly, the Patriots' defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, was rumored to be the leading candidate for the head coaching job for the Detroit Lions. Nothing here is at all surprising - assistant coaches with successful teams often leave at this time of year to become head coaches for other teams. Moreover, contracts are not typically signed until after the season is over (the season is not officially over for a team until they are done playing, so the Patriots' season didn't end until after the Super Bowl). So far, so good. Apparently, McDaniels had convinced some other assistant coaches to join his staff in Indianapolis, so the odds were looking pretty good that he was going to leave the Patriots at the end of their season. As recently as yesterday, the Colts had announced that there would be a press conference to introduce their new Head Coach (and that the new Head Coach would be Josh McDaniels).
Perhaps to everyone's surprise, McDaniels apparently told the Colts that he was no longer interested in the job (see breaking news article on ESPN.com here). McDaniels had a change of heart and decided that he would like to stay in New England. There has been a lot of speculation on why he made such an abrupt change in plans, anything and everything (for example, maybe he found out something that the rest of us know about the status of the Colts' quarterback Andrew Luck and his surgically repaired shoulder). The information that has been released to the press suggests that (1) the Patriots' owner, Robert Kraft, conducted an aggressive, last minute retention campaign and "sweetened the deal" to such an extent, that McDaniels was more interested in staying and (2) McDaniels decided that he and his family would like to stay in New England.
The truth of the matter is that it doesn't really matter why McDaniels changed his mind. He did. It was his choice, and he had not signed a contract. He alone will have to live with the consequences of his decision, whatever they may be in the short run and the long run. I heard one commentator question whether or not any organization in the future could trust McDaniels until he signed a contract. I also heard that other coaches would be less likely to agree to join his coaching staff in the future, at least until he had signed a contract.
Regardless of his reasons, and regardless of the future consequences, there is a lesson here. It doesn't matter where you are in your professional life - don't waste anyone's time going through the process of interviewing unless you are really in a position to leave your job for another one. If you are not ready to make a move - whether it is for personal reasons or professional ones - you should not look at other positions. I realize that there will be times when you aren't quite sure, and at times, the mere act of looking at another job convinces you that it is time to move on. That's all fine. But if there is no way that you would ever leave a position, you shouldn't waste your time or anyone else's.
If Josh McDaniels truly felt that his family loved living in New England, then he shouldn't have even bothered to look at another head coaching job. I completely understand that family comes first - I won't argue with his rationale for staying with the Patriots, if that is truly the reason. But if that truly was the reason, then why even bother to go look? I would like to believe that, even with the world that we live in today, things like honesty and integrity still matter. I wish Josh McDaniels all the luck in the world, and I truly hope that he finds happiness, joy, and meaning in his work. To the Indianapolis Colts, I think you found out (albeit the hard way) that you can do better than Josh McDaniels.
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