NFL analyst quietly backs up what Colts fans believe about Shane Steichen

But does he deserve that?
Indianapolis Colts Training Camp
Indianapolis Colts Training Camp | Justin Casterline/GettyImages

Quiz time. What do Brian Daboll, Mike McDaniel, Zac Taylor, and Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen have in common? If you said they are all NFL coaches, you are technically correct, but also disqualified for taking the easy way out.

If, on the other hand, you read The Athletic newsletter, you might know that NFL reporters Jacob Robinson and Dianna Russini have placed those four coaches on the hot seat heading into the 2025 season.

McDonald might be a tiny bit surprised if you haven’t been following the recent turmoil in Miami. It has been suggested that the offensive genius is helpless to address the Dolphins’ problems when QB Tua Tagovailoa is out of the lineup.

As for the Colts’ Steichen, it’s an open secret that he needs to solve his glaring quarterback problem or face dismissal.

What does Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen have to do in 2025 to save his job?

Steichen arrived in Indianapolis in the winter of 2023, hailed as the next young offense genius. There were about a dozen other coaches tagged with the same label in the past five to ten years. But unless you came from Mike Shanahan’s 2013 staff in Washington, it hasn’t worked out so well.

Shanahan's staff had Sean McVay (Rams), Matt LeFleur (Green Bay), Raheem Morris (Tampa Bay – and the only defensive-minded member of the club), and McDaniel (Dolphins), along with the head man’s son, Kyle (San Francisco). That’s a lot of playoff appearances coming from one staff. A little of the magic lingered after Shanahan departed. Kevin O’Connell (Minnesota) served on the Washington staff of Jay Gruden a couple of years later.

Steichen had a very good run with Phillip Rivers in San Diego/Los Angeles before joining Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia in 2021. After losing to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII, the Eagles lost both their coordinators. Defensive guru Jonathan Gannon took over in Arizona and Steichen came to Indy.

In the final years of Frank Reich, the Colts had gone from an 11-5 playoff team in 2020 to 4-12-1 in 2022. Reich was fired midway through the ’22 season. It didn’t help. Late in the season, Indy took a 33-0 lead into halftime against Minnesota and still managed to lose the game. The franchise appeared to be a free fall.

Steichen arrived with one mission. Find a quarterback. The Colts had built a decent enough roster, but were still trying to find their way forward after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck in 2018. They had been attacking the problem with available veterans -- Carson Wentz, Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan. Under Steichen, they hoped to find a young quarterback to lead them back to the playoffs.

The Colts had the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL draft, and every fan knows what happened. After Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud were off the board, Indy chose Florida’s Anthony Richardson, a physical marvel with an insanely low 393 passing attempts in college. Nonetheless, the thought was that Steichen could turn him into an elite professional.

So far, it hasn’t happened, and the Colts have been mired in mediocrity as a result.

To be fair, it isn’t like there was a much better quarterback waiting in the wings who Steichen passed over for Richardson. Arguably, the best available QB at that point was Tanner McKee, who went to Steichen’s old team Philadelphia in the 6th round.

In hindsight, the smart move would have been to wait. Four Pro Bowl players went in the eight picks after AR15. How would Indy look right now with Jalen Carter in the middle of its D line, or Jahmyr Gibbs teaming with Jonathan Taylor in the backfield? The following year turned out to be the time to get your quarterback.

But as a new coach with both ownership and a fan base desperate for change, Steichen either wasn’t secure enough to make the case for waiting – or else he was confident enough to think he could mold Richardson into a quality pro in short order.

Now, his career may be riding on that decision.

At the conclusion of this season, the coach will be halfway through his six-year contract. What has to happen this season to make sure he gets a chance to finish it?

A trip to the playoffs would do it. Not many NFL experts see that in the cards. Indy’s over/under is set at 7.5 wins for the year, and I have heard a lot of savvy analysts advise taking the under.

A retreat from last season’s 8-9 would put the coach on very shaky ground, especially if ownership sees a new coach in Jacksonville pull his club ahead of the Colts.

But what about the middle ground? 9-8. Second place in the division. A game or two short of the playoffs? Does Steichen get another year in that scenario?

That all comes down to Anthony Richardson and the progress he makes this season. If he is trending up, there would be a very good argument not to change coaches on him. But if continues to struggle, it’s hard to see Shane Steichen coaching the Colts in 2026.

As it was from the moment he was drafted, Shane Steichen’s fate rests on Anthony Richardson’s arm.  


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