Shane Steichen’s introductory press conference made it clear why Colts hired him

The Indianapolis Colts held an introductory press conference for Shane Steichen and it was evident why he was hired to be the head coach.

Shane Steichen is now the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and that was made official on Tuesday when the team held a press conference to introduce Steichen. Accompanied by team owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard, the three spoke with the media for about 30 minutes. During the exchanges, it became clear why Indy selected Steichen out of a deep and talented pool of candidates.

Irsay and Ballard discussed Indianapolis’ coaching search and admitted that it was a bit unorthodox, but they wanted to give every candidate a fair shot and also wanted to make sure they landed on the right guy. According to Irsay, it became clear that Steichen was likely the guy after they met with him in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago. Jim Irsay praised all of the candidates and explained that they were all pretty impressive but admitted that Steichen really blew him away.

The thing that seemed to impress Irsay the most was Steichen’s mind. Irsay repeatedly used words like sharp and brilliant when trying to capture how amazed he was with how quick Steichen is mentally and how he’s seemingly able to juggle a ton of topics and move between all of them with intellect. Between his intelligence, and passion that was also on display, Steichen “checked every box” for the Colts as Ballard said.

Colts got a smart and passionate coach in Shane Steichen

Irsay did a good job of highlighting Steichen’s intellect, but it was Steichen who demonstrated his passion for the game and his players. From his first words of the press conference, Steichen was very emotional as he thanked all of the coaches, players, and family members, by name, that helped him get to this point. His opening statement culminated with a listing of the Eagles’ offensive players as he emphatically expressed, “it’s all about the players, and it will always be about the players.”

Steichen also explained that he wants to build the team around four pillars: character, preparation, consistency, and relentlessness. He explained that first and foremost, he wants good people that treat everyone the right way. From a football perspective, Steichen argued that preparation is paramount and that the Colts won’t be cutting any corners throughout the week. He’ll be bringing the intensity every day and expects the same from the players, saying that everyone needs to be obsessed with their craft.

Between his offensive prowess that was on display during his days as a coordinator and the passion and care that was evident during the press conference, the Colts seemingly have a fiery leader that will be able to revitalize the offense and help Indianapolis return to contender status.

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