The Indianapolis Colts have a new offensive coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter. Cooter recently expressed one of the things about the job that has him excited.
This past season, there wasn’t much exciting about the offense for the Indianapolis Colts. They averaged 311.6 yards a game, which was 27th in the NFL, 17 points per game, second-worst in the league, and gave up 60 sacks, the second-most in the NFL. Indy’s offense is a big reason why the team was 4-12-1 and also why the organization felt it was time for a new head coach.
The Colts decided to go with offensive guru Shane Steichen as the team’s head coach. While he will call plays, Steichen has named longtime assistant coach, Jim Bob Cooter, as Indy’s offensive coordinator. Cooter recently spoke with the media and talked about why he’s so excited for this position in Indianapolis.
Cooter explained that he’s a big fan of Shane Steichen and the way he operates as a coach but he also admitted what was one of the biggest reasons he took this job: being able to work with Jonathan Taylor. Cooter expressed that he’s “really excited to be here, just to be around players like him.”
One of the biggest pulls of coming here? Working with a talent like Jonathan Taylor. "Really excited to be here, just to be around players like him."
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) March 14, 2023
Jim Bob Cooter is ready to work with Jonathan Taylor and Colts
Of course this is the case, what offensive coach wouldn’t want to work with Jonathan Taylor? He’s arguably the best running back in the NFL and is a proven special talent. He’s also only 24 years old, and should have many more productive years in front of him. Hopefully, all of those years will be spent with the Colts. Taylor only has one season remaining on his rookie contract, so that’s something that needs to get figured out within the next year.
Cooter has certainly watched Taylor prove his value to the Colts over the last few years. During Jonathan Taylor’s breakout season in 2021, he led the league with 1,811 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. Indianapolis also won nine games that season and was a win away from the playoffs. In 2022, however, the offensive line declined and Taylor battled through an ankle injury. That resulted in Indy having a horrible offense.
Now, Taylor has had surgery to clean up his ankle and should be entering next season fully healthy. That’ll give Cooter and Shane Steichen the opportunity to hit the ground running as they build an offense around Taylor and a rookie quarterback. If everything goes well, Taylor should be back rolling and Indianapolis should be exciting again.
READ MORE: Colts 2023 free agency tracker