After an exhausting search, the Colts finally have a new head coach in Frank Reich. Luckily, first year coaches have a history of success in Indianapolis.
The Colts have just completed one of the most complicated coaching searches in NFL history, but they have still managed to find an extremely qualified candidate who has a ton of promise in Frank Reich.
Indianapolis’ head coaches have normally come into fantastic situations in their first year, and Reich’s 2018 season could follow that trend. Here’s a look at the history of Colts’ coaches in their first season.
Chuck Pagano
The Colts finished 2-14 in 2011 with Peyton Manning on the sidelines due to a neck injury and Curtis Painter taking the reigns at quarterback. That season got Jim Caldwell fired and ushered in the Chuck Pagano era.
Pagano went 11-5 in his first season with the Colts with a sensational rookie quarterback named Andrew Luck. Their 11-5 record was a bit misleading as they were outscored by 30 points on the year, but a playoff appearance as a first-year head coach is almost always deemed a success.
Jim Caldwell
Jim Caldwell took over a Colts team that had gone 12-4 and lost in the Wild Card round during Tony Dungy’s final season as a head coach.
The Colts were sensational in Caldwell’s first season going 14-2 and making it all the way to the Super Bowl where they lost to the Saints. Caldwell inherited a fantastic team in Indianapolis, and they nearly took home the Lombardi Trophy in his first year.
Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy took over a team that had totally underachieved in their final season under Jim Mora with a 6-10 record. Like Pagano and Caldwell, Dungy also made the playoffs in his first season with the Colts as they went 10-6.
Dungy was already established as a quality head coach from his time in Tampa Bay, and he continued that success for seven years in Indianapolis.
Jim Mora
Like Chuck Pagano, Jim Mora took over a team that was terrible the year before and brought in a fantastic rookie quarterback in the draft. However, Mora didn’t have the same success in his first season as the Colts went 3-13.
Manning threw 28 interceptions that year as he went through some extreme growing pains as a rookie. Mora and Manning’s second year together went much better as they made the playoffs with a 13-3 record.
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Conclusion
Many of these Colts head coaches stepped into spectacular situations in their first season in Indianapolis, and it’s possible Reich is doing the same. If he has a healthy Andrew Luck, this Colts team has the potential to make the playoffs and be a serious contender.
However, the uncertainty of Luck’s health and the fiasco that led to Reich’s hiring make this a difficult situation for him to succeed in. We’ll learn a lot about Reich’s future as a head coach and how he handles adversity during the 2018 season.
Next: Is Frank Reich an Upgrade Over Josh McDaniels for the Colts?