Colts Announce Coaching Changes Including Jim Hostler’s Addition

The Indianapolis Colts have announced a series of coaching changes today, as Jim Hostler has been named wide receivers coach, Tim Berbenich as defensive assistant, Hal Hunter as offensive line coach, Brad White as outside linebackers coach, and Charlie Williams as running backs coach.

Jim Hostler last served as a senior offensive assistant for the Buffalo Bills, but previously was the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers in 2007. Prior to that, he was the San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach from 2005-06. He also previously coached wide receivers with the New York Jets 2003-04 and New Orleans Saints 2001-02.

September 22, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Indianapolis Colts offensive assistant Tim Berbenich looks on before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park. The Colts defeated the 49ers 27-7. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Berbenich has spent the last two seasons with the Colts as an offensive assistant, but will be switching over to the defensive side of the football now.

Hal Hunter spent the past two seasons as the Colts assistant offensive line coach, but has been promoted to a head offensive line coaching position. Whether he’s actually replacing the incumbent Joe Gilbert, or they’re having two leads remains unclear.

Brad White has served as a defensive coach for the Colts during the past 3 seasons. This past season he was an assistant linebackers coach, after serving as a defensive quality control coach for the previous two seasons.

Charlie Williams spent the last 3 seasons with the Colts, as their wide receivers coach, but will shift his focus to the team’s running backs now.

With the exception of Hostler’s addition, it looks as though the Colts have largely re-shuffled their coaching staff. It’s essentially the same faces but just in new places. Still, there’s something to be said for sustained continuity, and as General Manager Ryan Grigson alluded to in his year end press conference, “He wants to keep good people in this building.”

It appears that Williams may have his hands full the most, as the Colts running back situation has major question marks. Trent Richardson looks like he could be a serious candidate for offseason release, while Ahmad Bradshaw is coming off a season-ending broken ankle and is a soon-to-be free agent. The team also doesn’t know what to expect from Vick Ballard, who has missed the last two seasons with season-ending injuries.

Colts fans will have to keep their fingers crossed that these changes help spark some necessary improvement for the Colts to take that next step to become Super Bowl contenders in 2015.

Update: Per the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder, it looks as though the Colts will be going with two head offensive line coaches next season in recently promoted Hal Hunter and the incumbent Joe Gilbert: