As PFT reported earlier tonight, the Colts were bracing for the possibility of Josh McDaniels not signing the paperwork that would have made him the next head coach of the team. Three candidates are expected to be interviewed in the next 24-48 hours.
For now, it’s not known who they are. Possibilities (in our view, with no inside information for now) include Chiefs special-teams coordinator Dave Toub, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, and former Falcons and Seahawks coach Jim Mora.
Toub worked with Colts G.M. Chris Ballard in Kansas City. Many believed Toub would be the first choice to replace Chuck Pagano; ultimately, Toub wasn’t even interviewed.
Schwartz, Reich, and DeFilippo currently have the shine of a Super Bowl championship, having beaten McDaniels and the Patriots. Schwartz and DeFilippo both interviewed for the Cardinals’ job last month.
Frazier once worked for the Colts as an assistant to Tony Dungy, and Frazier surely would get the endorsement of his former boss. Mora’s father coached the Colts before Dungy.
Then there’s Dungy. He joked on PFT Live recently that he’d come back to coaching for $20 million per year. And while he’s been officially done for nine years, this could be the kind of situation that makes him at least think for a minute or two about a return, even though it remains highly, highly unlikely that Dungy would emerge from retirement.