[ColoradoTree]

Based on the reporting that has come out, it seems clear that this was the sequence of events:

1. McDaniels had a handshake deal for weeks. He drove the bus in terms of pushing Ballard to make offers to the defensive coordinator he wanted (Eberflus from Dallas) and a couple other assistant coaches that signed contracts with Indianapolis because they spoke to McDaniels and were excited about working under him.
2. McDaniels and the Colts finalized the agreement on Monday, he and Colts GM Chris Ballard spent 90 minutes rehashing and finalizing what the rest of the Colts' coaching staff would look like, including the Patriots' special teams coordinator and assistant QB coach, who were going to make the move with McDaniels.  McDaniels verbally agreed to terms and told Ballard he'd be there tomorrow.  (The Colts' official statement and other reporting has confirmed that he agreed to terms.  Sure, McDaniels might deny that now in order to try and avoid looking like a snake, but Ballard doesn't put out an "agreed to terms" statement if there wasn't agreement on the terms of the contract he'd be signing the following day.)
3. McDaniels was working with an Indianapolis realtor and was finalizing an offer on a house.
4. McDaniels went into the Patriots' offices yesterday to clean out his office and say his goodbyes before flying that afternoon to Indianapolis (this according to Patriots employees) to sign his deal and have the press conference.  New England said *something* to him that caused him to change his mind, and apparently offered him a boatload of money to stay.  Belichick has said he's coaching in 2018, so presumably it's a wink-wink coach-in-waiting deal, because you don't torch your reputation around the league unless you have some serious assurances. 
5. McDaniels did not call the coaches he had uproot their lives and move to Indianapolis until it was reported in the media that he was staying.  Those men, who had moved their families and signed new contracts based on Josh's promise that he was going to be their head coach, found out from the media.  He called them later, apparently, but only hours after they'd found out through the media and from Ballard calling them. 

There is nothing about this that says the Colts jumped the gun (and it would be Ballard, who is (was) friends with McDaniels and who shares an agent with him, who would have been jumping the gun and directing the announcement).  This is how head coaching hires are done.  You have informal arrangements with coaches and because the league rules don't allow you to formally sign contracts until a team's season is over, you're forced to negotiate informally, on the strength of someone's word, and line up a staff, all without having contracts in place.  It's a dumb system, to be sure, but it's the system in which teams have to operate, so they can have a staff lined up within a few days after they're eligible to sign their head coach. 

To say, "well, they didn't have pen on paper" is to ignore the realities of how these kinds of hires are conducted.  This is embarrassing for the Colts in that it blew up, and it's entirely possible Luck's shoulder isn't right, but the way this went down is 100% on McDaniels.  Teams won't forget how he treated the Colts in this process, and I'd be shocked if he's the head coach anywhere but New England ever again.  How could you trust him? 

[ColoradoTree]

Based on the reporting that has come out, it seems clear that this was the sequence of events:

1. McDaniels had a handshake deal for weeks. He drove the bus in terms of pushing Ballard to make offers to the defensive coordinator he wanted (Eberflus from Dallas) and a couple other assistant coaches that signed contracts with Indianapolis because they spoke to McDaniels and were excited about working under him.
2. McDaniels and the Colts finalized the agreement on Monday, he and Colts GM Chris Ballard spent 90 minutes rehashing and finalizing what the rest of the Colts' coaching staff would look like, including the Patriots' special teams coordinator and assistant QB coach, who were going to make the move with McDaniels.  McDaniels verbally agreed to terms and told Ballard he'd be there tomorrow.  (The Colts' official statement and other reporting has confirmed that he agreed to terms.  Sure, McDaniels might deny that now in order to try and avoid looking like a snake, but Ballard doesn't put out an "agreed to terms" statement if there wasn't agreement on the terms of the contract he'd be signing the following day.)
3. McDaniels was working with an Indianapolis realtor and was finalizing an offer on a house.
4. McDaniels went into the Patriots' offices yesterday to clean out his office and say his goodbyes before flying that afternoon to Indianapolis (this according to Patriots employees) to sign his deal and have the press conference.  New England said *something* to him that caused him to change his mind, and apparently offered him a boatload of money to stay.  Belichick has said he's coaching in 2018, so presumably it's a wink-wink coach-in-waiting deal, because you don't torch your reputation around the league unless you have some serious assurances. 
5. McDaniels did not call the coaches he had uproot their lives and move to Indianapolis until it was reported in the media that he was staying.  Those men, who had moved their families and signed new contracts based on Josh's promise that he was going to be their head coach, found out from the media.  He called them later, apparently, but only hours after they'd found out through the media and from Ballard calling them. 

There is nothing about this that says the Colts jumped the gun (and it would be Ballard, who is (was) friends with McDaniels and who shares an agent with him, who would have been jumping the gun and directing the announcement).  This is how head coaching hires are done.  You have informal arrangements with coaches and because the league rules don't allow you to formally sign contracts until a team's season is over, you're forced to negotiate informally, on the strength of someone's word, and line up a staff, all without having contracts in place.  It's a dumb system, to be sure, but it's the system in which teams have to operate, so they can have a staff lined up within a few days after they're eligible to sign their head coach. 

To say, "well, they didn't have pen on paper" is to ignore the realities of how these kinds of hires are conducted.  This is embarrassing for the Colts in that it blew up, and it's entirely possible Luck's shoulder isn't right, but the way this went down is 100% on McDaniels.  Teams won't forget how he treated the Colts in this process, and I'd be shocked if he's the head coach anywhere but New England ever again.  How could you trust him?