The biggest ship sinking in the NFL today is the Philadelphia Eagles. They've lost a Hall of Fame defensive end, Lane Johnson, traded away All-Pro center Cam Jurgens, and now quarterback Jalen Hurts is done for the season. All of this comes after an offseason that also saw A.J. Brown’s exit via trade.
What does any of this have to do with the Indianapolis Colts? The better question is: under which coach did Hurts have his best season in Philadelphia? The man who may not last much longer in Indianapolis: Shane Steichen. After Chris Ballard's firing, Steichen is the next figure of authority, and it's not looking good for him.
With the Colts underperforming at their current level, the seat under Steichen is hotter than it's ever been. Coincidentally, the same might be said for his Eagles counterpart, Nick Sirianni. If the Eagles are heading for a fire sale, Sirianni could be included, which could open the door for Steichen to return to the Eagles with Hurts.
Shane Steichen might not be jobless for long if the Indianapolis Colts fire him after this season
Say what you want about Hurts, who receives a ton of criticism, particularly for his ability to be a pure passing quarterback, but most would likely pick him over Daniel Jones if given the option. Hurts is a winner—he has won; even if you don't like how he did it, he's done more than Jones has ever done.
Jones is who Steichen is currently tasked with fixing; whether that task proves successful remains to be seen. The thing is, how the Colts do over the next few weeks could determine whether Steichen plays a further role in Jones's development.
That's where Hurts could re-enter the picture with Steichen, who coached the Super Bowl-winning quarterback for two seasons in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, Hurts had his best season statistically in his NFL career. He finished second in NFL MVP voting, threw for 3,701 passing yards, 22 passing touchdowns, and just 6 interceptions, and posted a 101.5 passer rating.
Hurts was also lethal on the ground, rushing for 760 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He led the Eagles to the Super Bowl that season with Steichen as his offensive coordinator, which would eventually lead to Steichen earning the Colts job. In that Super Bowl game, Hurts set a record for rushing yards by a quarterback and posted a passer rating over 100.
To sum up, Steichen has been the offensive coordinator who has produced the best version of Hurts the Eagles and the NFL have seen to date. The argument could be made, strongly, that Steichen was more successful as a coach in that one season than in his four seasons as the Colts' head coach combined.
With everything going on with the Colts these days, it's hard to imagine that Ballard's firing is the only domino to fall without significant change. Steichen could be next, whether mid-season or in the offseason.
If the Philadelphia brass decides to make their own head coaching change down the road, Sirianni's exit could mean Steichen's re-entrance—back with his old team, with the quarterback he went to a Super Bowl with, as the head coach. That story already sounds more prospective than where Steichen is now in Indianapolis.
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