Colts players are confident that Shane Steichen can lead Indy to the 'promised land'

The most important thing for a coach to do is win the locker room. There’s often talk about if coaches have the trust of their players or if they lost the locker room, because that can determine whether a team win or lose games. In order for a head coach to effectively lead, the players have to be buying what the coach is selling, ready to execute the instructions at full speed.

11 games into his first season as a head coach, there’s no doubt that Shane Steichen has won over the Indianapolis Colts locker room. It’s clear by the way Indy plays, the way the team adopted Steichen’s mindset, and also the way Colts players speak about the rookie head coach. From day one of Steichen’s tenure, players have been raving about his passion, aggressive competitive nature, and his culture of accountability.

Now that all of that has manifested into a 6-5 record that has the Colts in the playoff picture, Steichen’s praises from his players have only gotten louder, as the trust and belief in the rookie head coach has continued to grow.

Colts players trust Shane Steichen as the team’s leader

Veteran defensive lineman Tyquan Lewis recently threw a ton of praise Steichen’s way, highlighting how the rookie head coach lives by his four pillars of character, preparation, consistency, and relentless. Lewis also went on to say that he has no doubt that Steichen could lead the Colts to the promised land.

Lewis wasn’t alone in his praise. In a recent piece by ESPN’s Stephen Holder, detailing how Steichen’s aggressive nature has helped the Colts, multiple players spoke about how it’s Steichen’s relationship with players that allows for this aggressiveness. Zaire Franklin explained that Steichen prepares for everything, and explained that “He's not afraid to be aggressive. And I think that energy and that mentality ... is infectious to our team.”

Quarterback Gardner Minshew explained how every player wants a coach that trusts them. Michael Pittman Jr. and Zack Moss talked about how that trust makes them want to execute even more for Steichen, knowing that would give him even more confidence in the team.

With six games remaining in the season, confidence seems to be pretty high inside and outside of the building. Along with the team, fans and media members believe the Colts have a pretty good chance to be in the postseason, something that seemed extremely unlikely at the beginning of the year.

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