When Will the Colts Have a new Head Coach?

The Colts are the last team in the NFL to need to hire a head coach. It’s now the beginning of February, but when will they realistically hire a new head man?

Indianapolis is being put in an awkward situation. Every team who fired a head coach this season already has a new leader. Every team except the Colts. They fired Chuck Pagano on Dec 31, 2017. Yet they still do not have another coach lined up to take his place.

Part of this is on Josh McDaniels. As has been noted, McDaniels reneged on the agreement he had with GM Chris Ballard to be the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. This has now put the Colts way behind the clock. Because they had to wait to hire him until after the Super Bowl, a lot of the other candidates they were considering have taken other jobs.

Chris Ballard is also at fault here. McDaniels is a smart football mind, but there were questions about his commitment level. Ballard put those aside and still went to try to hire him. Because of that decision, it has come back to bite him and now puts him in a precarious position.

Ballard indicated in his press conference on Tuesday that there would be no timetable to hire a new coach. He said he wanted to find the right leader for the Colts no matter how long it takes. While this might sound good in theory, he needs to hire someone quickly.

With the NFL combine at the end of the month and the draft in late April, Ballard has very little time to find someone. He realistically needs to hire someone at least a week before the combine. That way the coach has time to look at his roster and give Ballard some input on who they should look at in the combine.

Next: Colts Request Interview with Bills DC Leslie Frazier

Look for the Colts to hire a new head coach in the next week or two. If it is not done by February 20th, a week before the combine, the Colts might be in trouble.