Frank Reich Inherits Defensive Line Coach for Colts Staff
By Andrew Ites
Frank Reich didn’t get to hire his own defensive line coach, but he inherited a quality coach to work with the Colts’ defensive linemen.
The Colts thought they had an agreement in place for Josh McDaniels to become the next head coach in Indianapolis. However, McDaniels got cold feet, backed out of the agreement, and decided to return to Indianapolis.
The Colts had already hired a few assistant coaches to work on McDaniels’ staff, and one of those coaches was Mike Phair. The Colts will honor Phair’s contract, and he will be coaching the defensive linemen in Indianapolis next season.
According to the Colts’ website, Mike Phair has 13 years of coaching experience. He has seven years of experience as an NFL coach, and he’s also spent six years working as a scout in an NFL personnel department.
Phair spent time coaching for the Bears, Buccaneers, and Seahawks during his time in the NFL.
His most recent job was with the University of Illinois where he was the co-defensive coordinator/defensive line coach in 2015, and he transitioned to the run game coordinator/defensive line coach position for the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
General manager Chris Ballard has done a fantastic job of acquiring talent along the defensive line in his first year in the Colts’ front office, and he may be bringing in some more players for Phair to work with next season.
Next: An Optimistic Look at the Colts’ 2017 Season
Here are our profiles of the rest of the Colts’ new coaching staff:
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