Shane Steichen vs. Frank Reich: 3 Similarities, 3 Differences

The Indianapolis Colts have found their next head coach in former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen. However, with this association, many are drawing comparisons to the former head coach of the Colts Frank Reich (now coaching the Carolina Panthers).

With this at the top of our minds, let’s dive into the three similarities and differences between the two coaches. For starters, the differences.

Difference No. 1: Personality

During his time in the NFL, Reich hasn’t been one to show too much emotion, if anything at all. Generally, Reich would be a stoic, stone-faced leader who would never tip anything to the other team about how he’s feeling. He would motivate his players quietly and more through encouragement.

However, Steichen is different.

Far more of a “fiery” type, he isn’t afraid to bring emotion. We saw this recently in his introductory presser as the Colts’ new head coach, tearing up at the chance to run his team and get his wife and children to Indianapolis. It could be possible that current Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni rubbed off a bit on Steichen during his time as his offensive coordinator. Regardless of personality, both men know how to get their teams to perform at their best.

Difference No. 2: Running Back Committees

While in Indianapolis, Reich preferred to lay out more of a “lead back” and “receiving back” type of offense. Joining as head coach of the Colts in 2018, Reich implemented then-starting running back Marlon Mack as the lead back and had former Colts third down specialist Nyheim Hines as the pass-catcher.

This tendency would also sneak into the Jonathan Taylor era, with Taylor handling far more of a workload but Hines still handling pass-catching duties. Reich’s use of running backs was indeed very effective throughout his years in Indianapolis and punished many a defense.

Steichen was different in Philadelphia. In 2022, Steichen’s running attack was a brutal three-headed monster that consisted of Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott. With all three of them churning, the Eagles had the fifth-best rushing yards per game average in the league at 147.6.

This also made defenses have to respect every running back for their given talents, which opened up Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to Run-Pass options, play-action, and deep throws. With all those modes of attack, a defense must crowd the box and get exposed downfield with vertical passes.

Difference No. 3: Aggression With Play-Calls

Similar to the personalities, each playcalling is different in the sense of aggression. With Reich, it was more of a focused and poised conservative attack. With Carson Wentz in 2021, there were downfield play-action calls, but the constant ground attack was efficient with Taylor as the bell-cow ball carrier.

With Steichen, there were more aggressive throws down the field, especially in 2022, with Davonte Smith and A.J. Brown as his receivers. This could likely be that Hurts was mobile while Colts quarterback Matt Ryan wasn’t, but it’s also attributed to the aforementioned committee backfield that the Eagles deployed.

Now that the differences are out of the way, let’s lay out the similarities between the offensive gurus.

Similarity No. 1: QBs They’ve Worked with

Without question, both men know the quarterback position. Reich has coached the likes of Peyton Manning (Colts), Philip Rivers (then-San Diego Chargers), Nick Foles (Eagles), Andrew Luck (Colts), Wentz (Eagles and Colts), and Matt Ryan (Colts). With Steichen, he’s coached Rivers (Chargers) and developed Justin Herbert (Chargers) and Jalen Hurts (Eagles) to their peak performances.

Both coaches have different ways of bringing the best out of the most important position in football.

Similarity No. 2: Offensive Mindset

Like the first similarity with quarterbacks, these coaches also know offensive playcalling and have that same attribute in spades. Both men were offensive coordinators, with Reich handling it from 2014-2017 (two years with the Chargers and Eagles each) and Steichen from 2020-2022 (one year with the Chargers and the last two with the Eagles).

This will help each as they enter their new head coaching positions, as the Panthers and Colts are likely drafting rookie quarterbacks.

Similarity No. 3: Maximize TE Positions

Reich put the league on notice with the explosive production of then-Eagles tight end Zach Ertz while there. Reich had a drop-off after 2018 (he coached the then-Colts tight end Eric Ebron to a career-high 13 touchdowns) but had a constant carousel of quarterback changes from 2018-2022 with Indianapolis. Likely hurt the production.

With Steichen, he worked with eight-time pro bowler Antonio Gates (Chargers) and helped Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert to emerge as a top-five player at the position in the league. With young passers likely coming into town, a close receiver like a tight end can be that new signal-callers best friend, and both of these coaches can make that happen easily.

These two will likely continue to be compared because of their ties to the Chargers, Eagles, and Colts. But each has differences and similarities that have made them both successful. With an exciting 2023 offseason ahead, we will see what the Panthers and the Colts do with new offenses gracing the fields in Carolina and Indianapolis.

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