FOXBORO, Mass. — The man who very nearly became Andrew Luck’s head coach last spring offered his reaction Monday to the Indianapolis Colts quarterback’s unexpected retirement.
Josh McDaniels, who initially accepted the Colts job in the aftermath of Super Bowl LII before ultimately deciding to remain in his role as New England Patriots offensive coordinator, lauded Luck’s toughness and said he will be missed by many around the NFL.
“He’s a great player,” McDaniels said. “I think everybody is obviously free to make their own choices about what’s best for them and their family and their future. I certainly respect his decision. I think the league will miss him. Like I said, he’s a really talented player. He’s one of the toughest guys at that position in the league. We’ve played a lot of games against those guys.”
Despite enjoying one of the best seasons of his career in 2018, the 29-year-old Luck opted to walk away rather than continue what had become a painful and draining process of injury rehab. News of his retirement broke during the Colts’ preseason game Saturday night.
McDaniels likened Luck’s decision to the one Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski made this past offseason. Gronkowski also was 29 when he announced his retirement seven weeks after Super Bowl LIII.
“I’m a football fan,” McDaniels said. “I grew up the son of a football coach. Anybody that feels like they have to (retire), it kind of breaks my heart a little bit, because you’d love for those guys to play as long as they can. But I totally respect his decision.
“Certainly, we went through it with Rob a little bit. I don’t know if the circumstances are the same, but any great player, you’ve got to give them credit for making the choices that are best for them. At the same time, I think football in general misses those guys.”
The Colts now will enter the season with former Patriots backup Jacoby Brissett as their starting quarterback. McDaniels was asked whether he felt like he’d “dodged a bullet” by spurning the Colts one year before Luck called it quits.
“I don’t think (my decision) had anything to do with that,” he replied. “I think once we made the decision to stay (in New England), I think then it was right for me. It wouldn’t have mattered — none of this would have mattered, anything after we made the choice to stay. And I’d say that regardless of what happened.”
