Should Colts hire an offensive-minded or defensive-minded head coach?
By Evan Garrison
This offseason, the Indianapolis Colts have to hire a head coach and they must decide if they want a defensive or offensive coach.
As the Indianapolis Colts attempt to tread water for the rest of the season, they start to look towards the offseason where they’ll need to answer lots of questions. The Colts, for the fourth straight offseason, will be tasked with finding a franchise quarterback. The team will also be tasked with shoring up the offensive line so Jonathan Taylor can find the holes he used to break out in the 2021 season. Finding a veteran wide receiver will certainly be on the list of priorities as well.
Despite all of these needs, perhaps the most important part of the offseason will be finding a head coach. The Colts fired Frank Reich after four seasons and nine games into the 2022 season. Who was his replacement? Reich was replaced by long-time Colts center and current ESPN pundit, Jeff Saturday. While Jeff Saturday quickly won over fans with his blunt honesty about his position and defeating the Las Vegas Raiders in his first game, he’s had little success. It’s been clear since his first day that Saturday will only be the head coach for the rest of the season and once it is over, the head coaching search will restart for owner Jim Irsay.
The team will have to answer questions about the roster, possibly the general manager, and of course, the head coach. The question for Irsay and his GM will be what kind of coach they need to hire. Indianapolis has routinely hired good head coaches. Tony Dungy is a Hall of Fame coach, Jim Caldwell had plenty of success, Chuck Pagano led the Colts to plenty of success with Andrew Luck, and Frank Reich finished his tenure with a winning record. They’ve had plenty of success with both defensive and offensive coaches. So, who should be trusted to lead this team to win?
Should Colts go defense or offense with next coach?
The perks of hiring a defensive-minded head coach would be that the coach is immediately getting an excellent defensive lineup. Indianapolis will roll into next season with DeForest Buckner, Shaq Leonard, Zaire Franklin, Kenny Moore, Stephon Gilmore, and plenty of young talent on the defensive line still under contract. Most teams would feel lucky to have such talent on a defensive roster. Letting a coach hire an offensive coordinator to handle the offense might be in the best interest of a defensive-minded head coach walking into a job with the kind of talent that Indy possesses.
With that said, the defense may be fine on its own. In his first year with the Colts, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley is leading an Indianapolis defense that ranks top 10 in yards per game. They’re not putting up the historic turnover numbers they did in 2021, but they still have the players who were used in that elite defense. Perhaps it’d be in their best interest to hire an offensive-minded head coach.
Colts need help offensively
The offense has clearly been what has held this team back this season. Whether it be turnovers, failing to complete passes, or failing to run the ball effectively, the Colts’ offense has struggled. Hiring an offensive-minded head coach would make sense given that Indianapolis has the 27th-ranked offense in the league. With Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., Jelani Woods, and Quenton Nelson, an offensive-minded head coach will have plenty of talent to get creative.
The direction that Indy goes in for a head coach will likely be an offensive-minded coach. Bradley has done plenty to prove himself to be a good defensive coordinator. Once some of his key players get healthy, and if they can create turnovers like they used to, it’ll be even better. On offense, the Colts are averaging the second-least points per game with 16.1, despite having such talented players. The Colts need to find a coach that puts the offense first and that can make the team score easier.
