The Colts will actually end up retaining offensive line assistant Klayton Adams.
Building continuity on a coaching staff is an extreme rarity in the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts learned that the hard way this offseason as they lost a handful of prominent assistants to promotions with other organizations or the college ranks.
The most notable departure came in the form of offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni being hired as the Eagles’ new head coach, which became all the more crushing when it was announced that defensive backs coach Jonathan Gannon and passing game specialist Kevin Patullo would join his new staff in Philadelphia.
Those moves really took away from other outgoings, like offensive line assistant Klayton Adams taking the Arizona State OL coaching job a few weeks ago. In a surprising turn of events, however, it appears that agreement has fallen through and Adams will be returning to the Colts likely in the same capacity, per Doug Haller of The Athletic.
JUST IN: Recent Arizona State hire Klayton Adams has reversed course and is staying with the Indianapolis Colts in a similar role.
— Doug Haller (@DougHaller) January 26, 2021
So Herm Edwards is back looking for an offensive line coach.
It isn’t clear what forced Adams into changing his mind, but since the Colts had yet to name his replacement prior to this development, it’s reasonable to assume that he’ll continue to work under Chris Strausser and return to his post as the team’s assistant offensive line coach.
According to Haller, it was Strausser who might have played a vital role in Adams deciding to back out of his agreement with the Sun Devils. In a recent conversation, the offensive line savant made it clear just how much the organization values Adams. Fully aware of the negative impact this magnitude of coaching turnover can have on a team, perhaps the Colts contacted Adams this week and persuaded him to stick around for at least one more year.
When I talked with Colts offensive line coach Chris Strausser last week he made it clear how much the Colts valued Adams. The team recently lost its OC to Philadelphia, which may have set this in motion. https://t.co/2XjrUK06UZ
— Doug Haller (@DougHaller) January 26, 2021
As we previously mentioned, the Colts have already lost three essential members of their offensive staff and they simply could not afford to watch another leave without putting up a fight to retain him.
We all know how much continuity contributes to team success, so Indy really deserves massive credit for convincing Adams, who’s been instrumental to their OL’s emergence as one of the best units in the league, to leave Arizona State at the altar and return to his former post.
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