An inside look at Colts coaching search: Who’s involved and what questions are they asking?
As the Indianapolis Colts continue their search for a head coach, here’s a look at what Indy’s process with candidates reportedly entails.
The NFL is preparing for Super Bowl 57 on Sunday and the Indianapolis Colts still don’t have a head coach. This marks the fourth week of Indy’s extensive head coaching search. With 14 first-round candidates, and eight candidates receiving second interviews, Chris Ballard and the Colts are making good on their promise of an in-depth and thorough coaching search that could take until mid-February. But what exactly does Indy’s coaching search entail?
The Colts aren’t the first team to make an important coaching decision, in fact, three teams have already hired head coaches this offseason. Why is Indianapolis on the verge of an unprecedented third round of interviews? The simple answer is that Indy really wants to be right about the coach they choose. The more detailed answer is that Indy has a long process that involves a lot of the franchise’s decision-makers spending a lot of time with candidates.
As the process continues to unfold, more details have emerged about Indianapolis’ interview process. First, Mike Garafolo reported that Indy’s second round of interviews that were held in person were very long, “around 12 hours in some cases.” More recently, Albert Breer expounded on these details calling the Colts’ process “an interesting one,” that he’s looking forward to hearing more details about once everything concludes.
Was traveling the past week, but now catching up on the Colts’ coaching search. Here is what I know as of this moment:
— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) February 7, 2023
The interviews are over. I do not anticipate any additional meetings, though it’s possible that could change (though not likely).
(Thread)
Details on the Colts search for a head coach
Breer reported that the first round of interviews held on zoom “were run by Ballard, with vice chair Carlie Irsay-Gordon (Jim’s daughter), director of team development Brian Decker and PR and HR staffers involved.” For the candidates that made it to a second round of interviews, they had to meet with even more people in the organization including assistant general manager Ed Dodds and team owner Jim Irsay.
Like Garafolo, Breer explained that the second interviews have been around 12 hours and involved one-on-one time with Irsay. Additionally, Breer reports that the interviews are “30% football, 30% leadership, 40% other stuff.” There is no telling what the other stuff category entails but it’s obviously important for the Colts to reach a decision.
Based on the type of candidates, it was evident that Indy’s decision was going to be about more than the scheme. Defensive coordinators have been the most popular candidates for the Colts, and if it was all about football, that wouldn’t have been the case. Indy’s offense was terrible this past season and it’s likely that the team will be drafting a quarterback at the top of the draft. For those reasons, an offensive-minded coach makes the most sense if Indy was scheme driven.
However, it’s now clear that Indianapolis is looking for the best leader to effectively manage the coaching staff and the roster so that the Colts can once again be contenders. Hopefully, Indy’s long and interesting process will help the team land the right coach.
