The Steichen era begins in Indy
By AUSTIN LAWTON
ISL Contributor
INDIANAPOLIS — After over a month of interviews and speculation, the Indianapolis Colts have found their next Head Coach. Now former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, will take the reigns from interim head coach, Jeff Saturday.
“I’m extremely honored and grateful to be the next head football coach of the Indianapolis Colts,” Steichen said in the first of many introductory statements at a press conference this afternoon. The new Head Coach fought back tears as he thanked numerous personnel and players from all of his past teams.
The road to this position started back in 2011 when Steichen became a defensive assistant for the San Diego Chargers. In 2013, Steichen went east to Cleveland to serve as an offensive quality control coach for the Browns.
Steichen started a second stint with the Chargers as a offensive quality control coach in 2014. By 2016, he became the quarterback coach and three years later earned the interim offensive coordinator spot. One year later, he had the full time gig.
When former Colts offensive coordinator, Nick Sirianni became the head coach of he Eagles, Steichen joined him in 2021. The Eagles’ performance in the 2022 season garnered buzz for Steichen to be in contention for a head coaching position in the offseason, and was even called the “hottest name” to look out for by some publications.
Steichen comes to the Circle City after guiding the high-power Eagles offense to Super Bowl 57. While Philadephia came just three points short in the loss to Kansas City on Sunday, it was the defense, not the offense, that ultimately let Philly down in the big game.
Philadelphia ranked third in points per game and yards per game. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had a breakout season, ranking second in rushing touchdowns and fourth in passer rating. Wide receivers A.J Brown and Devonta Smith had great years, with both ranking fourth and ninth, respectively, in receiving yards.
Steichen comes to Indy with a plan, laying out four pillars that he wants to see out of his team: character, preparation, consistency, and relentlessness.
“The separation in this league is in the preparation. How we prepare as a football team and as an organization, Monday through Saturday, will ultimately dictate the outcome of a football game,” Steichen said. “Now is it going to guarantee us a victory? No, but it is going to give us a fighting chance, I promise you that.”
It took the Colts organization longer than most to find their guy. It took approximately five weeks in the head coaching search, giving second or even third interviews, a rarity for an NFL team. Teams will want to find their head coach before the playoffs or the Super Bowl rolls around but Colts general manager Chris Ballard thinks otherwise.
“ I told you all ( the media) that this could go into mid-February,” Ballard said. “We’re going to take our time. I never understand what the hurry is. It’s about getting it right and if that meant we needed to interview 50 people, we’d have interviewed 50 people. You want to get the right person for the job, which we’ve felt we’ve done.”
One thing that plagued the Colts throughout the 2022 season was play-calling. Former offensive coordinator Marcus Brady was fired mid-season, and Frank Reich’s once heralded play-calling lost a lot of juice before he was also relieved of his duties. Jeff Saturday left the play calling to Parks Frazier, and the Colts went 1-8 down the stretch.
Now Stiechen will take up the mantle of play calling, and looks to be bringing a rejuvenated offensive plan with him.
“My philosophy on offense is this, and its going to look different each week, but my philosophy is we’re going to throw points to score in this league and run to win,” Stiechen said. “We’re going to throw points to score and run to win. Now that could look different each week. The flow is going to dictate that. I know weot some pieces in place to get that done and we should be ready to roll.”
Stiechen will be leaving the MVP runner-up, Jalen Hurts, for a quarterback room that has an aging Matt Ryan, a still young Sam Ehlinger, and Nick Foles.
The Colts hold the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and could trade up, leaving Steichen to work with another talented, young, quarterback. Steichen will look for certain qualities in a quarterback, whoever that might be.
“I think accuracy, decision-making, and ability to create are the three things I look at in a quarterback,” Stiechen said. “I think those all three things are very important, but obviously above the neck. I think the players I’ve been around, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert and Phillip Rivers, they all have one thing in common. They’re obsessed with their craft. If you can find that in a quarterback, you are probably going to have some success.”
Only time will tell if the hiring of Steichen will work out or not. This could be another rebuild. This could be a quick turnaround depending on the QB and how things play out in free agency. But at the very least, Colts fans can have more optimism as they turn the page.
