Why Colts Aren’t Joining the NFL's Coaching Overhaul

The Indianapolis Colts finished their 2025 season 8-9, the same record the team finished with in 2024, and just one game worse than their record in 2023. In an offseason where nearly a third of the league moved on from their head coach, why didn't the Colts?

The offseason outlook for Indianapolis is bleak. After starting the season 7-2, the team made a preemptive vote of confidence and elected to pull the trigger on a trade for All-Pro defensive back Sauce Gardner. The Colts sent the New York Jets their next two first-round draft selections.

The Jets will use the Colts' pick this spring to select in the top half of the draft after Indy lost their last seven games to end the season. The basis for the all-in trade made was likely that the team believed they had found an answer at quarterback: Daniel Jones, whom they signed to a $14 million deal in March.

Colts' offense through 9 weeks:

— 32.2 Points/Game (1st in the NFL)
— 3.8 TDs/Game (1st in the NFL)
— 6.3 Yards/Play (1st in the NFL)
— 0.532 Points/Play (1st in the NFL)
— 0.18 EPA (1st in the NFL)

The best offense in the league. pic.twitter.com/WoIe05AtOy
— Colts Muse (@ColtsMusee) November 7, 2025

Jones led the Colts to their best start in 15 years and an 8-2 record by the bye week. Indianapolis was blowing out inferior opponents, while even earning wins over the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers early in the season.

Jonathan Taylor's 286-yard day in Germany sent the Colts into the bye week confident, but what was not to be overshadowed was the unit's six-turnover day in Pittsburgh in the week prior. The Steelers held Taylor to just 45 yards on the ground, while Jones threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles.

Just before taking on the Kansas City Chiefs off the bye, it was reported that Jones was dealing with a fracture in his fibula. Whether or not this hindered his play was kept under wraps by the team, and both head coach Shane Steichen and Jones proclaimed confidence in his ability to play through the injury going forward.

#Colts QB Daniel Jones, who has been dealing with a lower leg injury, suffered a fracture in his fibula, sources say.

Jones was a full participant today and one source said, “He looked good.” Jones will continue to try to play through it. Toughness never questioned. pic.twitter.com/86pfA5AdTN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 27, 2025

After managing a 20-9 lead over the Chiefs in the fourth quarter, the Colts allowed Patrick Mahomes and company to crawl right back in it and force overtime. Across the fourth quarter and in overtime, the Colts didn't pick up a single first down on offense. They netted 13 total yards across their final four drives of the game. Jones finished with 181 passing yards.

In the following week, a crucial home defeat to the Houston Texans was headlined by the offense's mere 16 points. Jones completed 16 passes for 201 yards, and Taylor was held under 100 yards for the third time in four games.

Traveling to Jacksonville off two losses, tragedy struck when Jones tore his Achilles in the second quarter, ending his season. The Colts lost their final four games of the season in the weeks to follow, finishing the year 8-9 and on a seven-game losing streak.

Daniel Jones posted a thank you message on IG for the support he has received before and after his season-ending surgery for a torn Achilles. pic.twitter.com/YViyEWCHbf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 12, 2025

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A total of 17 teams across the NFL posted losing records in 2025, with ten teams overall moving on from their head coaches.

Of those 17, eight fired their head coaches (Cardinals, Falcons, Giants, Raiders, Titans, Browns, Ravens, Dolphins).

Three had first-year head coaches (Cowboys, Jets, Saints).

Two were playing in a conference championship last season (Chiefs, Commanders).

Two were one win away from the playoffs (Panthers, Buccaneers).

Two teams with losing records do not fit any of the above criteria: The Cincinnati Bengals (6-11) and the Indianapolis Colts (8-9).

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen walks off the field Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, after losing a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has five playoff wins under his belt. What's the Colts' rationale for keeping their head coach?

"It was a tale of two seasons," Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said. "What we saw in that first half, in a record way dominating offensively, we just have to be able to face adversity better."

In her first-year as the team's lead decision maker, Irsay-Gordon highlighted the team's inability to close games late as the biggest obstacle for Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard going forward.

"You lose your starting quarterback, that's on Chris and Shane to find a way to finish those games," Irsay-Gordon said. "Injuries are never an excuse. Every NFL club is dealing with injuries."

General manager Chris Ballard has notched just one playoff win in his nine-year tenure with the team. Steichen is yet to reach double-digit wins across his first three seasons as the Colts' head coach.

We have been very clear with Chris and Shane that giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon

The Colts' best two seasons under Ballard were 2018 and 2020, where the team earned wildcard berths each year. Both seasons were led by head coach Frank Reich, who was terminated midway through the 2022 season after a 3-5 start. Reich would finish his Indianapolis tenure with an overall record of 40-33-1.

Steichen was brought on following the 2022 season after the team elected to retain Ballard. The pair drafted quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft to be the next heir apparent, attempting to avoid the quarterback carousel that had existed since Andrew Luck retired in 2019.

In three seasons with the team, Steichen has posted an overall record of 25-26. Those 25 wins are the 19th most among all NFL franchises since 2023. That stat doesn't sound too bad until it's put into perspective: 12 of the 13 teams with fewer wins in that time frame have changed head coaches at least once. The Bengals are the only exception.

That quarterback Steichen and Ballard drafted in 2023? He's started just 15 total games in his three seasons with the team due to a slew of injuries, along with poor performance. Anthony Richardson Sr. has suffered a concussion, a season-ending sprained AC joint, a hip pointer, back spasms, and a fractured orbital bone, all of which have caused him to miss time.

To recap: the current leadership of the Indianapolis Colts wins fewer games per year than over half the league, still doesn't have a concrete answer at quarterback, and lacks first-round draft capital until 2028.

The current plan appears to be that the Colts will bring back Jones, who's an impending-free agent. The team is slated to have the 14th most available cap space in the league at $26.9 million, but a Jones contract extension would greatly complicate things.

The Colts are looking to sign QB Daniel Jones to a long-term extension after this season, per @RapSheet. pic.twitter.com/cxAQ1TZLNg
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) October 26, 2025

In order for Jones to fall among just the top 20 highest-paid quarterbacks based on annual salary, he'd need at minimum $20 million per year. Spotrac evaluates Jones' worth at more than double that, at $43.6 million per year.

The Colts' only 1,000-yard receiver this season, Alec Pierce, will also hit the open market if not extended before free agency this March. Spotrac lists his market evaluation at more than $20 million per year.

Alec Pierce finished the season with 1,003 yards on just 47 receptions

The fewest catches to reach 1,000 yards since DeSean Jackson in 2010 🤯 pic.twitter.com/GBeWxfrIbT
— PFF Fantasy (@PFF_Fantasy) January 4, 2026

In an off-season where Indianapolis already lacks substantial resources to improve its roster, handicapping the team's financial flexibility by giving Jones over $40 million annually would work as a nail in the coffin for both Ballard and Steichen if it weren't to foster near-immediate results in 2026.

To instill hope in fans and to fill Lucas Oil Stadium by September, what more can you do other than sell that false hope? The only option that feels feasible is to take the safe bet, extend Jones, and hope he recovers from his devastating calf injury.

Indianapolis Colts General Manager Chris Ballard speaks with media Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, at the Colts practice facility in Indianapolis. | Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Buffalo Bills fired head coach Sean McDermott after the team's divisional round playoff loss, a game the Colts have only reached one time in Ballard's tenure. The Steelers amicably split from Mike Tomlin despite winning their division this past year, something the Colts haven't done since 2014.

The rest of the league will toss you aside if you can't win. Indianapolis seems to operate under a different standard.

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