After a thorough search involving a plethora of candidates across the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts have officially filled their vacant head coaching position.
The organization will move forward with former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen in the role. The 37 year-old will look to give the Colts a new direction, as they moved on from Frank Reich in the middle of the 2022 season.
Steichen’s Background
In recent years, the NFL has trended younger in terms of its head coach hiring practices. Steichen certainly fits the mold, as Indianapolis hopes that they’ve landed a creative thinker who looks at the game with a fresh perspective.
Steichen has worked in the NFL since 2011. He actually started his coaching career with the then-San Diego Chargers, as a defensive assistant. After spending one year with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 as an offensive quality control coach, he would return to the Chargers in the same capacity. Steichen worked his way up to quarterbacks coach in 2016, before becoming the franchise’s offensive coordinator midway through the 2019 season.
He landed with the Eagles ahead of the 2021 campaign, as he was named offensive coordinator under head coach Nick Sirianni. Steichen’s offenses have finished in the top half of the NFL in yards in each of his four years as an offensive coordinator.
Constructing A Staff
Of course, Steichen’s promotion comes with added responsibility. He’s going to be seeing the entire on-field operation of a football team, including defense and special teams. His success will in part be determined by how the team performs in those other areas, in addition to productivity on the offensive side of the ball.
To that end, it’s going to be interesting to see who Steichen surrounds himself with on the coaching staff. He might elect to bring on younger coaches who see the game similarly, and connect with players in a comparable manner. Conversely, Steichen might want to bring on experienced minds who have seen a multitude of scenarios at the NFL level, that he can draw upon for guidance.
As an offensive-minded head coach, his key decision will be determining who will run his defense.
Top Priorities
Indianapolis finished last season with a 4-12-1 record, so there are a lot of areas for improvement. However, Steichen inherits a potentially lethal ground game, spearheaded by running back Jonathan Taylor. Unfortunately for the Colts, Taylor was only healthy enough to suit up for 11 games in the 2022 season, and his availability will be critical to Steichen’s early success as a head coach.
Additionally, Indianapolis will once again be in the market for a quarterback. Over the last several seasons, they’ve tried to bring in veteran signal callers in hopes of patching the position together, but that has met with limited success.
The organization might be ready to embrace the development of a younger prospect, someone whom Steichen can help mold. It would not be surprising if the Colts try to snag a quarterback in April’s NFL Draft.
