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Tony Dungy goes on tirade after what Josh McDaniels did to his assistants

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Josh McDaniels stunned the football world Tuesday with his decision not to accept the Indianapolis Colts heading coaching job that he had verbally agreed to, and instead return to his role as offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.

The Colts, who could not officially sign McDaniels until after the Patriots’ season had concluded, had planned on finalizing the deal this week. Had McDaniels not given a verbal agreement to take the job, Indianapolis could have had another candidate signed and in place by now.

McDaniels has faced plenty of criticism for his decision, not only from fans and pundits in Indianapolis, but also from his agent, who reportedly told McDaniels he was making perhaps the biggest professional mistake of his career by backing out of this Colts job.

Former Colts head coach and current NBC analyst Tony Dungy is also disappointed in McDaniels’ decision, but not because of its impact on McDaniels or the Colts.

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Dungy went on Twitter Wednesday morning to rip McDaniels because of the impact his decision will have on the assistant coaches the Colts had hired to work with McDaniels.

“There is NO excuse big enough to justify this,” Dungy wrote in his Twitter post. He was responding to a line in a story by Sports Illustrated’s Peter King that suggested McDaniels decided to return to the Patriots because he “felt more comfortable” there than he did with Indianapolis.

“It’s one thing to go back on your word to an organization,” Dungy added. “But having assistant coaches leave jobs to go with you then leave them out to dry is indefensible. For COMFORT??”

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The Colts had hired three assistants to serve under McDaniels: defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo and defensive line coach Mike Phair.

When some Twitter users suggested moves like this are nothing more than the business side of sports, Dungy said they were missing the point.

“Has nothing to do with sports,” he replied. “That is common decency and integrity. You don’t do that to the families of your peers.”

Another user tried to twist Dungy’s logic, making the analogy to a groom who doesn’t feel comfortable on his wedding day. Wouldn’t it be better to walk away from an unhappy marriage than going through with something that could be a mistake?

“You make those decisions before you say, ‘I Do,'” Dungy said. “Don’t get married, start a family then say, ‘I changed my mind.’ He didn’t sign the contract but he said, ‘I Do.'”

Mike Garafolo of NFL.com reported Wednesday that the Colts will retain all three of the assistants the team hired to work under McDaniels to serve under the team’s next head coach.

While Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick reportedly helped persuade McDaniels to return as New England’s offensive coordinator, King’s report said McDaniels’ return was not contingent on him receiving assurances that he would replace Belichick whenever the coach retires.

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Scott Kelnhofer is a writer for The Western Journal and Conservative Tribune. A native of Milwaukee, he currently resides in Phoenix.
Scott Kelnhofer is a writer for The Western Journal and Conservative Tribune. He has more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. A native of Milwaukee, he has resided in Phoenix since 2012.
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Phoenix, Arizona
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Media, Sports, Business Trends




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