Stokley: McDaniels spurning Colts ‘a slap in the face,’ ‘bad business’

Within a period of less than 12 hours on Tuesday the Indianapolis Colts went from having their new star head coach, Josh McDaniels, to being left empty-handed.

McDaniels, in what ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter called a “stunner,” spurned the Colts after accepting the club head coaching job to instead return as the New England Patriots offensive coordinator.

Per Schefter, Patriots owner Robert Kraft “sweetened” McDaniels’ deal to “entice him to remain in New England,” though the move clearly did not sit well with all across the NFL.

Text from one league source: “That’s Kraft putting it to the Colts again. He will forever try and (expletive) that place ever since deflate gate.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2018

Among those who disagree with how McDaniels handled the situation is “Stokley and Zach” co-host and former Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley.

Stokley, joining “The Drive” after the news broke late Tuesday, told DMac how McDaniels handled the situation was a “slap in the face” to the Colts organization.

“You go through this whole process, and you’ve had assurances from him that he’s taking the job, and you broke the news today that you’re going to be doing all of this and that with him, and he’s your new head coach,” Stokley said. “What do you do now? Everybody’s gone.

“I mean it’s a slap in the face is what it is. It’s very disrespectful from Josh and his representatives to do something like that.”

And not only is it disrespectful, Stokley said, but it’s “bad business.”

“I just look at it and say if I’m another owner I would never hire this guy. I just couldn’t trust him,” Stokley said.

But, in the end, spurning the Colts to remain in New England might come back to bite McDaniels in the end, with the end of the Patriots dynasty possibly in sight.

“Maybe he got assurances to be the next head coach there, but I just don’t look at that job as a promising job in three years when (Tom) Brady’s gone,” Stokley said. “They’re going to be in for a rude awakening there.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.