The Indianapolis Colts shocked the NFL today after head coach Shane Steichen announced that Daniel Jones would be their starting quarterback for the 2025 season, relegating Anthony Richardson to QB2. That decision was quickly panned by fans and analysts alike, who had all overwhelmingly seen Richardson as the better option.
In his press conference, Steichen said he wanted Jones to start because he brought more consistency to the quarterback position, but also oddly said that Richardson is "just a play away" from starting, insisting that he still has room to grow within the Colts organization. He also argued that Jones had no leash on his time as a starter and that he would be playing through the season.
If anyone else is having flashbacks to the Joe Flacco fiasco, it's for good reason. Steichen said virtually the exact same thing when he benched Richardson in favor of the veteran QB, and it was a disaster in every way. Steichen argued that Flacco gave the Colts the best chance to win in 2024, and that Richardson's benching was not a temporary thing; Flacco would be it for the rest of the season.
Shane Steichen's time as the Indianapolis Colts head coach needs to be up
But then, surprise! Flacco played absolutely horribly, and within just a few short weeks, Flacco was demoted back to QB2, and Richardson was once again named the starter. It's the same mistake, all over again, on top of all the other mistakes Steichen has made during his reign in Indy. At what point is enough, enough?
With the season about to start, it's obviously the worst possible time to fire a head coach, so Steichen's not going anywhere... for now. But it's beyond clear that his time in Indianapolis needs to be up.
Consider how Steichen handled Richardson's benching last season. Multiple members of the team openly admitted they were not told about it by Steichen himself and found out on social media. The entire situation was handled so poorly that rumors began flying that he had lost the locker room.
Shane Steichen’s opening statement: https://t.co/5YxXC4OvQL pic.twitter.com/3ki82Vk49j
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) August 19, 2025
And that's not even the only issue the Colts have had; under Steichen's leadership, there have reportedly been problems with the team culture, which Steichen not only denied even existed, but shrugged off, as if issues with players routinely being late or not respecting his leadership in the locker room are just no big deal.
Furthermore, there's the issue of Steichen's coaching. As one veteran player told The Athletic after the 2024 season ended, there is no vision, and he's become notorious for poor play-calling. Then there's his bad habit of publicly throwing his own players under the bus, and his record in Indianapolis hasn't exactly been otherwise full of wins.
Jim Irsay chose to give Steichen another chance, but that was clearly a massive mistake. Between him and Chris Ballard, the Colts are being run into the ground, and if Carlie Irsay-Gordon wants any chance of winning anytime soon, she needs to clean house, starting with Steichen.