There’s a good chance the Colts next coach is coaching on Championship Sunday
The Indianapolis Colts won’t be playing on Championship Sunday but there’s a good chance Indy’s next coach will be standing on one of the sidelines.
Sunday, January 29, is Championship Sunday for the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles will be hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship and the Cincinnati Bengals will be traveling to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship. The Indianapolis Colts are hoping that they will soon be the team playing on Championship Sunday and their next decision could go a long way in expediting that process.
The Colts are currently searching for a new head coach and on Wednesday, Indy started its second round of interviews. While all of the candidates that Indianapolis will be holding second interviews with haven’t been revealed, there’s a good chance that a few of them will be coaching on Sunday. Prior to narrowing their coaching search, the Colts had first interviews for Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, Shane Steichen, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator, Brian Callahan, and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator, DeMeco Ryans.
These four are some of the top candidates in this year’s hiring cycle and they are a big reason why their respective teams will be competing for a spot in the Super Bowl on Sunday. There’s also a good chance that one of these four will be the next head coach of the Colts.
Will Colts’ next coach be coaching on Championship Sunday?
Steichen is in his second season as offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Under his coordination, the Eagles have developed into one of the best offenses in the NFL. During the 2022 season, Philly averaged 389.1 yards a game and 28.1 points a game, both third in the league., trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills.
Kansas City led the way in both yards and points averaging 413.6 yards a game and 29.2 points a game. This of course comes with Eric Bieniemy in his fifth season as offensive coordinator. Bieniemy has been a part of the interview process almost yearly, and this could be the year that the Colts give him a chance to lead a team.
The other offensive coordinator is Brian Callahan, and he has been with the Cincinnati Bengals since 2019. A year after Callahan arrived, the Bengals drafted quarterback Joe Burrow. Callahan has helped develop Burrow into one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and Cincinnati has one of the best offenses in the league. With the Colts likely drafting a quarterback in the upcoming draft, Callahan seems like the perfect candidate to help develop a rookie quarterback and an offense.
The lone defensive coordinator on Championship Sunday that Indy is interested in is DeMeco Ryans. Ryans is arguably the top candidate in the entire pool, and watching the 49ers’ defense gives a good idea of why. Aside from coordinating a dominant defense, Ryans leadership has been praised by fellow coaches and players, and he also played in the NFL for a decade. Unlike the other candidates on the list, Indy hasn’t held a first interview with Ryans because of scheduling conflicts but the team is determined to interview Ryans eventually.
While NFL fans should be delighted to two good games on Sunday, Colts fans can watch and take a look at the game plans and play-calling of four coordinators that could be calling all of the shots in Indianapolis next season.
