Colts Officially Hire Shane Steichen as Their Next Head Coach
The search is officially over.
After five long weeks of interviews and discussions, the Indianapolis Colts have found their head coach. The Colts announced this morning that former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen has agreed to be the team's next head coach.
Steichen has been the offensive coordinator for the Eagles under head coach Nick Sirianni since 2021. Steichen has been instrumental in the development of star quarterback Jalen Hurts and has helped turn the Eagles into one of the most explosive and dynamic offenses in the NFL. The Eagles ranked third in yards per game (389.1), fifth in rushing yards per game (147.6), ninth in passing yards per game (241.5), and third in scoring (28.1 points/gm) in 2022.
Steichen got his start in the NFL with the then-San Diego Chargers in 2011 as a defensive assistant and saw a rise to prominence from there.
He moved on to the Cleveland Browns in 2013 as an offensive quality control coach. Steichen worked closely with the quarterbacks in his one season with the Browns. While the Browns started three different quarterbacks that season – Jason Campbell, Brian Hoyer, and Brandon Weeden – all posted games of 300 or more yards for the first time in franchise history.
Steichen returned to the Chargers in 2014 as an offensive quality control coach, this time working with the wide receivers for two seasons. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach with the Chargers in 2016, working with former Colts' quarterback Philip Rivers.
Rivers experienced some of the best seasons of his career working with Steichen. During Steichen's three-year span as quarterbacks coach, Rivers ranked second in the NFL in passing yards (17,824), fourth in touchdown passes (116), and fourth in completions (1,446). Rivers earned three straight Pro Bowl selections from 2016-2018.
In 2019, Steichen took over as the offensive coordinator of the Chargers after former OC Ken Whisenhunt was fired mid-season. Steichen remained the offensive coordinator for the Chargers through the 2020 season as he worked with another quarterback, rookie Justin Herbert. Steichen helped coach Herbert to 4,336 yards, 31 touchdowns, and ten interceptions in 15 games as the quarterback won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
When Sirianni was named head coach of the Eagles in 2021 after spending three years as offensive coordinator of the Colts, he hand-picked Steichen to be his offensive coordinator. The two worked together with the Chargers from 2014-2017 and created a close bond with one another. With the Chargers searching for a new coaching staff, Steichen made the jump to Philadelphia to join Sirianni.
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Steichen was tasked with helping develop Hurts, who many thought could not be a reliable starter in the NFL. But Hurts has proved the doubters wrong, throwing for 3,701 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just six interceptions in 15 games in 2022. Hurts also rushed for an additional 760 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, finishing second in MVP voting.
While Hurts is an incredibly hard worker, he has talked numerous times about Steichen's role in his development. Steichen bases his offense around what his quarterback does best, changing philosophies based on the signal caller's comforts. He takes what his team does best and meshes it with what makes an opposing defense struggle, resulting in a diverse game plan that produces a high success rate.
"He'll be a great head coach," Sirianni said of Steichen. "He can connect with guys, he can hold them accountable and he's been around a lot of great coaches. He's a student of the game, there's no doubt in my mind that when he has his opportunity he's going to run with it."
One thing that impressed owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard was Steichen's plan to lead the Colts into the future. With the Colts slated to pick a young quarterback in this spring's NFL draft, having a plan in place to help that rookie succeed was a huge priority. However, as Ballard has long said, it's never all about the quarterback, and having a plan for raising the level of play for the rest of the team was key as well.
“You’ve got to be able to find a way to win," Ballard said in January. "So it’s going to be very important whether it’s an offensive coach, defensive coach or special teams coach – the ability to build a plan around how we’re going to win, what our identity is going to be and how we’re going to win with who is playing quarterback is important. I think there is a way to win every game. I think you just look across the league right now and teams that might not be getting superstar quarterback play, but solid quarterback play are finding ways to win.”
After 11 years of grinding through the coaching ranks, Steichen finally gets his shot as the lead man. The Colts were very thorough in their head coaching search, interviewing 13 candidates, with the second round lasting up to 12 hours for some. The goal was to ensure everyone had a fair shot, doing everything they could to find the best head coach for the franchise.
Steichen turned out to be the man for the job, and in the team's most important offseason in 25 years, the Colts are hoping their first move turns out to be a home run.
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