Colts' 2023 Head Coach Candidate: Shane Steichen
The Indianapolis Colts enter the 2023 NFL offseason in need of a new head coach. Former Head Coach Frank Reich did an admirable job in his 4.5 years with the team, leading the Colts to a 40-33-1 record despite having to work with a new starting quarterback every season.
Ultimately, it came time to move on from Reich as the team stagnated and hit a wall under the him in recent seasons. While the Colts may not be the greatest destination across the league, they should be able to generate a decent amount of interest for one of the 32 most coveted positions in the sport.
In this series, I will dive into a handful of the coaching candidates that the Colts could/should interview during their search and break down their background/qualifications for the job. Next up, is Philadelphia Eagles' Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen.
Background in Football
Shane Steichen was a quarterback recruit that attended UNLV out of high school back in 2003. He had a far from stellar college career, completing just 52.5% of his passes and tossing 22 touchdowns to 20 interceptions in 23 games played. His playing career ended after college, as he never made it into the NFL as a player.
Coaching Qualifications
Steichen's coaching career began in 2010 as an offensive assistant at Louisville. He served in that role for a season before making the jump up to the NFL in 2011. He joined the San Diego Chargers as a defensive assistant and served in that role until 2012. He joined Norv Turner's staff and worked directly under coaches such as Steve Wilks and Greg Manusky.
Following the 2012 season, Steichen made a quick pit stop with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 as an offensive assistant (joining Norv Turner there). Following that one year stint, he went back out to San Diego to work as an offensive quality control coach under Mike McCoy. Steichen would go on to work with the Chargers for the next seven seasons, holding numerous roles with the team.
He served as an offensive assistant for the team from 2014-2015. He was promoted to QB coach in 2016 and held that role all the way up until 2019. He was named as an interim offensive cooridnator by the end of the 2019 season and he held on to that role as the full time OC in 2020. In his one full year as an OC for the Chargers, the team finished 9th in total yards and 18th in points scored.
Following the 2020 season, Steichen left the Chargers to work under Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia as an offensive coordinator. Initially, in 2021, Sirianni was the primary playcaller for the Eagles, but he quickly relinquished those responsibilities to Steichen early in the season.
In Steichen's two seasons with the Eagles, he has managed to make them one of the league's best overall offenses. They were 12th in total yards and 14th in points scored in the 2021 season. In 2022, the Eagles finished second in both points scored and in total yards on the season.
Potential Staff Connections
Steichen has only been coaching around the NFL since 2011, so his connections are a little thin compared to other candidates in this series. Still, here are a few that could make sense for him. The * marks coaches that he'd likely look to bring with him as coordinators.
Offensive Coordinator
Scott Turner*, Washington Commanders Former Offensive Coordinator: WR coach for the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
Pep Hamilton, Houston Texans' Offensive Coordinator: QB coach for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020.
Tommy Rees, Notre Dame Offensive Coordinator: Offensive assistant for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2016.
Kevin Patullo*, Philadelphia Eagles Passing Game Coordinator: Served in the same role with the Eagles for the past two seasons.
Defensive Coordinator
Steve Wilks, Carolina Panthers Interim Head Coach: Assistant HC/DB coach for the San Diego Chargers in 2011.
Bobby Babich, Buffalo Bills LB Coach: Assistant defensive backs coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2013-2014.
Chris Harris*, Washington Commanders DB Coach: Assistant DB coach with the San Diego Chargers from 2016-2020.
Eric Henderson*, Los Angeles Rams DL Coach: Assistant DL coach for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2017-2018.
Nick Rallis*, Philadelphia Eagles LB Coach: Served in the same position with the Eagles for the past two seasons.
The Bottom Line
Shane Steichen is one of the top head coach candidates on the market this offseason, and for good reason. He has had a major hand in the Philadelphia Eagles' success in 2022, and he is one of the top offensive minds in the league. He has some good connections as well to the Norv Turner coaching tree.
Steichen will be a hot commodity so he may have other options besides the Colts, but he would be a slam dunk hire for this team this offseason.
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