Is Frank Reich being the first head coach hired a sign the Colts made a mistake by firing him?

The Carolina Panthers made Frank Reich the first coach hired during this cycle. What does that say about the Indianapolis Colts firing him?

The Indianapolis Colts fired Frank Reich on November 7, 2022. 11-and-a-half weeks later, on January 26, 2023, Reich was hired by the Carolina Panthers to be the team’s head coach, making him the first coach of this hiring cycle to receive a head coaching job. Meanwhile, the Colts are just starting their second interviews for their coaching vacancy, and the candidate that is expected to receive the role is someone fans are already protesting and someone that the media is already ridiculing.

Now there’s no telling if Jeff Saturday actually receives the Colts’ job but what does Frank Reich being the first head coach hired say about the fact that Indianapolis just fired him? Does it mean that the move by Indy was premature? Does it highlight that Reich is a great coach and the problems in Indy were bigger than him? Will Indy regret firing Frank Reich? Does it simply mean nothing at all?

Everyone’s free to draw their own conclusions, and depending on who the Colts hire next, that decision could largely impact how Reich’s firing is viewed. But ultimately, Reich being hired so swiftly doesn’t have to be an indictment of the Colts. It’s possible that it was time for Indy to move on from Frank and that he’s still a good coach that can thrive in a new environment. He now has the opportunity to prove that.

Frank Reich being hired by Panthers doesn’t mean Colts should’ve kept him

Another former Colts head coach, Chuck Pagano, spoke on Reich being hired by the Panthers so quickly after just being fired by Indy, and Pagano said it the best way possible. He explained that a lot of coaching gigs have shelf lives; eventually, things are going to go bad at a specific location. It doesn’t mean that the individual is suddenly a bad coach, it just means that the current circumstances aren’t working anymore. That’s likely what happened between Reich and the Colts.

Indianapolis was only 3-5-1 at the time of his firing, and Reich had recovered from slow starts before. However, it was clear something was different. The offense, which is Frank Reich’s specialty, was abysmal, Jim Irsay wasn’t a fan of Reich’s leadership style at the time, and the team just didn’t look like they were capable of a turnaround. So Irsay felt that Reich and the Colts had reached their expiration date and he made the decision for them to part ways.

Now, Reich has a new team, and soon, the Colts will have a new head coach. Both could go on and do great things and that doesn’t necessarily mean it was wrong for their partnership to come to an end.

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