Colts offensive staff (continued)
Tom Manning-Tight Ends Coach
Tom Manning returned this season for his second stint as Colts TE coach after being a part of Frank Reich’s staff early in his tenure. Overall, the tight ends had a quiet year for this football team. Mo Alie-Cox returned as one starter and veteran presence. Jelani Woods suffered an offseason hamstring injury and never saw the field after a setback. We saw Kylen Granson and Will Mallory share some snaps throughout the year with Granson getting more starter snap counts. The other tight end in the mix was Drew Ogletree and he is currently on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for some off-the-field issues.
Granson and MAC were productive all season and were terrific on some gadget plays that were used during the season. Rookie Will Mallory showed his promise this year and will be one to watch next season. I think the average year from the tight ends was more of the less talent than the coaching that was going on.
Grade: B
Tony Sparano Jr.-Offensive Line Coach
Tony is arguably the star of this staff for 2023-24 season as he has completely turned around this staff from its arguably worst season last year. The son of the late Tony Sparano has really dove in on his first OL Coach job after many years of having assistant OL jobs. Center Ryan Kelly has mentioned how much of an impact Sparano has not only made on himself but the entire OL room. We saw great strides from LT Bernhard Raimann after last season left us some serious questions. Raimann is now expected to be the LT of the future for this team and can continue his development. Outside of Braden Smith, the line stayed healthy and that will be key to continue the growth that Sparano Jr. has brought to this unit.
Grade: A