The Indianapolis Colts have officially announced Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. After weeks of speculation linking the now former Patriots OC to the job, the Colts took to Twitter to announce the hiring: This will be the 41-year-old's second head coaching job after his disastrous two years in Denver between 2009-2010. He went 11-17 with the Broncos before being fired after 12 games of the 2010 season. However, another successful period with Patriots as OC has since restored his reputation as one of the best offensive minds in the league. With more experience under his belt, this looks to be a home run hit by Jim Irsay, Chris Ballard and the Colts organisation. Pairing McDaniels with Pro Bowl quarterback Andrew Luck is exciting. It will represent the first time Luck will have had an offensive head coach since Bruce Arians' brief interim stint with the team in 2012. Having missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, the Colts will hope McDaniels can help restore their AFC South supremacy. Media members and Indy fans have been taking to social media to express their approval and delight at the news: 

The excitement is certainly justified as McDaniels offensive prowess is plain for all to see. During both of his stints with the Patriots ('06-'08 & '12-'17) his offense ranked number one in points per game and his experience working with Tom Brady will prove invaluable going forward for his relationship with Luck. 

Long time SI columnist Peter King has lauded the hiring too, telling Colts.com:

“I don’t often have personal feelings about when coaches are named...but I have a personal feeling about this one — and it’s a strong one, and it’s a positive one for the Colts." he said.

"When Josh McDaniels sort of flamed out in Denver...I had a long conversation with him after the fact, and he said to me at that time, ‘I want you to be completely honest with me. I want you to tell me everything you think I did wrong. If I ever get this chance again, I’m asking a lot of people — what you think I did wrong, how I can be better in the next one, and I’m going to use that the next time around.’" King continued. 

"And that’s what he’s done. And that impresses me about somebody. Instead of saying, ‘Boy those Broncos, they were a bunch of idiots. I was on the right track, and I had it going,’ he understood he made some mistakes, and if he ever had another chance, he wasn’t going to make those mistakes again."

ESPN insider Adam Schefter also revealed the McDaniels will be taking Patriots assistant QB coach Jerry Schuplinski with him to be his OC. 

Exciting times lay ahead for a Colts franchise that has uncharacteristically struggled over the past two seasons. McDaniels has a stiff task ahead of him, but working with highly regarded GM Chris Ballard it will be fascinating to see what he can do in his second coming as an NFL head coach.