Which came first, the chicken or the egg? That is, of course, a silly question, but oddly, it applies to the Indianapolis Colts in a negative sense. The issue is who to blame for the team's lack of success over the last several seasons. The general manager or the current head coach?
Chris Ballard came first. He was hired as the team's head coach in 2017, and has since cycled through three head coaches (four if you want to count Jeff Saturday, who doesn't truly count). Steichen is, obviously, the third, and has been on the job for three years.
Before Steichen's appearance on the Indy scene, however, the team had made just two postseason showings in six years. Since Steichen took the head coaching position, the team hasn't made the playoffs. Is that the fault of the head coach or the person in charge of creating the roster that the coach needs to mold into a winner?
The Indianapolis Colts have a massive Shane Steichen decision forthcoming
The coaches before Steichen could not consistently get to the playoffs, so likely the issue is Ballard. Still, a great head coach can make the pieces given to him into one that is better than the sum or thier parts. The statistic that is most damning for Steichen is that he is 7-22 against teams with winning records when the Colts play them.
He can beat bad teams. He cannot beat good ones. Steichen is the king of mediocrity.
Even after three years, the team is truly searching for an identity. Steichen, at least outwardly to the public, doesn't come off with the strength of personality needed to get players to long-term buy-in to his way of doing business.
Players have to do what a coach asks them to do, of course, or, in most cases, they don't play. But there is a difference between doing what one is told and being so bought-in that one can run a system and help teach that to others with the confidence that one knows it will work out. That last part might still be waiting for Shane Steichen's Colts.
The Indianapolis Colts started 7-1 in 2025 before losing eight of their last nine games. Would having a coach better than Steichen changed the narrative of the second half of the season, even with all the injuries Indy suffered? Maybe. We might never know. Not until 2027, when the team has a new head coach if Indianapolis doesn't make the playoffs next season.