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NFL

McDaniels: Clarity with Pats led to Colts choice

ORLANDO, Fla. — New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels publicly addressed his decision to back out of the Indianapolis Colts head-coaching job for the first time on Monday, telling The Boston Globe that everything changed two days after the Super Bowl when owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick clarified his situation with the team.

That included an adjustment to his contract, which had one year remaining, according to The Globe.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure what the future was,” McDaniels told the newspaper. “So, where did I fit in? Were there any plans? I just didn’t have much clarity on what my role was here moving forward. … Once I heard from Robert and Bill on that Tuesday, it just gave me reason to pause and consider this whole situation. …

“When they kind of crystallized that — ‘Hey, here’s what we see going forward and here’s how we would like you to fit into it’ — it gave me a reason to stop and say, ‘All right, what’s the best decision for me?’ And certainly it was difficult. But I made the decision on my own, nobody pushed me into it.”

At the same time, McDaniels was given no assurances for the future, according to The Globe. McDaniels told the newspaper it “was as difficult a decision as I’ve ever made professionally.” He also said he spoke with the three assistant coaches who had been hired to be part of his Colts staff, all of whom are staying in Indianapolis.

“It was never my intention to go into this and put anybody in an awkward position or do any harm to anybody or do anything to hurt anybody’s career,” he told The Globe. “I just felt like once I knew the whole picture and I had the opportunity to make a decision, it was tough but I feel like I made the right one.”

McDaniels praised Colts general manager Chris Ballard, calling him an “incredible human being” and added, “Indianapolis did a tremendous job. They have a tremendous organization and I was lucky to be considered. I just think once I found out [the Patriots’ plans for me], I made the right decision for me and my family at this time.”

Soccer

Roma advances past Shakhtar on away goals

AS Roma is heading to the Champions League quarter-finals courtesy of a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Italian capital, despite losing 2-1 to the Ukrainian outfit in the first leg.

A 52nd-minute goal by Edin Dzeko levelled the aggregate score at 2-2, which, combined with Cengiz Under’s crucial first-leg goal at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv, proved enough to see the Italian outfit through on the away-goal rule.

A 79th-minute red card to Ivan Ordets all but scuppered any attempt at a comeback for Shakhtar, as Roma saw out the result before celebrating in front of a raucous home crowd. Not that the Romans were tested much over 90 minutes; Shakhtar failed to record a single shot on target, even though the Ukrainian outfit maintained 59 percent possession.

Roma’s round of 16 triumph sees the club advance to the final eight of the tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season, the year that the Italian outfit defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in both legs before losing to Manchester United in the next round.

Coupled with Juventus’ success over Tottenham, this result marks the first time two Italian teams have advanced to this stage in 11 seasons.

The 1-0 scoreline also sees Roma preserve its perfect goals-against record at the Stadio Olimpico in Champions League play this season, having previously recorded a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid, a 3-0 win over Chelsea, and a 1-0 win over Qarabag in the group stage of the competition.