Despite getting burned by Josh McDaniels, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard was actually against the proposed rule change that would've allowed coaches to be hired from teams that are still active in the postseason.
The proposal was tabled by the NFL Competition Committee indefinitely Tuesday. It was inspired by McDaniels, whom the Colts had to wait to hire as head coach until after the Super Bowl, only for them to learn the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator had a change of heart and wasn't coming to Indy after all. By then, their coaching candidates pool had shrunk significantly.
"When you're a playoff team, you're trying to eliminate all the distractions that you can, Ballard told Stephen Holder of the Indy Star. "And we're going to be a playoff team and we're going to have these issues.
"It becomes a slippery slope. We have rules in place for a reason. I think they're good rules. It gives you a chance to interview and then, after the season, whatever happens, happens. In our case, he changed his mind and we moved on."
Ballard added that the McDaniels fiasco isn't a usual occurrence around the league, and noted the rule could result in a team getting locked to a coach whose heart remained elsewhere.
"What if you hire a guy and he’s halfway in?" Ballard said. "Even though it was painful, and everybody reacted, I kind of didn't see what the big deal was. You move to the next scenario. That's just what we do. People are so scared of the unknown. I say just keep moving forward. What if a guy signs a contract and then, two weeks later, has second thoughts? What are you going to do? What are the legal ramifications?
"And that playoff team who has worked their (butt) off, they're trying to win, man. The rules are in place to protect them. It's already a distraction, but now you're creating a whole other issue."
Indianapolis wound up hiring former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich as head coach after McDaniels elected to stay put in New England.
