Pair of Colts Offensive Coaches Deemed Notable Breakout Candidates

The Indianapolis Colts took the NFL world by storm in the early stages of last season when they turned a Daniel Jones-led offense into one of the league's most efficient operations of the 21st century.

Through seven games of the 2025 season, the Colts were on track to become the most efficient offense since 2000 with an absurd 3.46 points scored per drive.

Furthermore, the 2025 Colts were deemed the fourth-best NFL offense through eight games based on DVOA (37.7%), a statistic that's been tracked since 1978 and aims to determine overall team success.

There was merit in the pushback from analysts who claimed the Colts hadn't played anybody worth of note during this stretch, with most of their success coming against bottom-tier defenses, but the aforementioned efficiency was still staggering.

Shane Steichen has been considered one of the league's top offensive minds of the 2020s, so him turning in such success after finding his footing as a first-time head coach with a steady hand leading the charge was not shocking, but the heights they reached early in 2025 were.

The Athletic's Jordan Rodrigue recently dropped an article that included assistant coach breakout candidates for all 32 NFL teams based on a combination of team and league sources and film study, and the Indianapolis Colts received two separate shouts.

Alex Tanney

A former NFL practice squad quarterback turned offensive coach, Alex Tanney has quickly risen the ranks throughout the 2020s.

Tanney has served under Shane Steichen in four of five seasons as an NFL coach, and is now receiving leaguewide hype for his recent efforts as Steichen's passing game coordinator in Indianapolis.

"Before his season-ending injury, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was enjoying a career season, and Tanney was one of the coaches who served as a behind-the-scenes architect. He worked with head coach Shane Steichen at his previous stop in Philadelphia and has become an extremely valuable assistant to him," Rodrigue wrote.

Although the role of a passing game coordinator is often overlooked, Tanney's behind-the-scenes efforts has resulted in him earning hype as a potential future offensive coordinator, and the time may come sooner rather than later if he and his staff can replicate the Colts' early-season success from last year.

Cam Turner

Cam Turner has been an offensive assistant and/or quarterbacks coach for each of his 13 seasons as an NFL coach, but his three-year tenure as Shane Steichen's quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis has provided him with some praise that could result in a promotion in the near future.

"The Colts’ quarterbacks coach also gets a nod here. He was described to me as a “glue guy” in Indianapolis who, like Tanney, helps set the schematic table for offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and Steichen," Rodrigue wrote.

Turner has had his hands full during his three seasons as the Colts' quarterbacks coach, yet someway, somehow, he and his staff's offenses have appeared to maximize their personnel the best they can.

After pivoting several times in three seasons, from a raw Anthony Richardson to an unretired Philip Rivers, Turner has played a hand in such optimization and is now on the radar as an up-and-coming coach after years of grinding as an assistant.

Keep an Eye Out for Tony Sparano Jr.

Although it's far less likely that he can reach offensive coordinator status like Tanney or Turner can, Tony Sparano Jr. has quickly evolved into becoming one of the league's top offensive line coaches.

After just three seasons as a full-time offensive line coach, Sparano Jr. has helped turn a steady operation into one of the NFL's top OL trench units despite annual turnover.

It's rare to see offensive line coaches turn into offensive coordinators, but don't count out Tony Sparano Jr. as a potential future head coach candidate, considering how quickly he's rising to stardom as a leader of men.

Sign Up For the Colts Daily Digest - OnSI’s Indianapolis Colts Newsletter

Add us as a preferred source on Google