Colts have a new coach in Pats Josh McDaniels

INDIANAPOLIS » The Indianapolis Colts waited 22 days to make Josh McDaniels their coach. On Tuesday, they got it done.

The team announced the hiring of New England’s longtime offensive coordinator on its Twitter account. Word leaked last month that the sides were close to a deal.

“We are excited to welcome Josh McDaniels, who has agreed to terms as our new head coach!” the post read. “Press conference scheduled for Wednesday.”

He succeeds Chuck Pagano, who was fired Dec. 31, and inherits a team that finished 4-12 in a season without injured quarterback Andrew Luck. Contract terms were not immediately available.

In McDaniels, the Colts get a five-time Super Bowl champ who has been considered one of the best young offensive minds in football and a top-tier head coaching candidate the past several years. He had been a head coach in Denver.

The hiring comes a day after the Detroit Lions landed Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia as their coach, meaning the AFC champions must find two new coordinators.

Until the Patriots’ season ended, with Sunday’s Super Bowl loss, NFL rules prohibited Indy from saying or doing anything with McDaniels.

But within days of Pagano’s ouster, general manager Chris Ballard interviewed McDaniels during the Patriots’ postseason bye week. Two weeks later, reports indicated the deal was all but finished and potential suitors, like the New York Giants, started hiring other coaches.

A few hours after the initial reports about McDaniels, other leaks revealed Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach Matt Eberflus was set to become McDaniels’ new defensive coordinator — a decision Eberflus’ wife apparently confirmed by updating her Facebook profile with an Indianapolis Colts logo.

McDaniels is also expected to pluck at least one other coach off New England’s staff.

Ballard and team owner Jim Irsay met again with McDaniels the week before the Super Bowl and NFL. com reported Sunday that former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell might take the same job in Indy.

Bevell worked with Brett Favre for six seasons in Green Bay and two more in Minnesota. He also spent six seasons with Russell Wilson in Seattle.