Panthers head coach Frank Reich is 'highly motivated' for first game against Colts

Prior to this season, Frank Reich was the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts at the start of the last five seasons. Indianapolis was actually the former quarterback’s first head coaching job in the NFL. With the Colts, he had a 40-33-1 record and was 1-2 in the playoffs. Unfortunately, things didn’t end well.

After nine games into the 2022 NFL season, the Colts were sitting at 3-5-1, so the organization decided to fire Frank Reich. Some argued that the move was premature, especially since Jeff Saturday was hired as the interim head coach, but Reich said that he had no bitterness towards the organization. Indianapolis went on to hire Shane Steichen as the team’s head coach and Reich was hired to be the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

Now, for the first time since being fired by Indy, Reich will face off against the Colts, with the Panthers set to host Indianapolis on Sunday for a Week 9 matchup. Speaking with the media on Wednesday, Reich explained that he’s highly motivated for the game against Indy.

Frank Reich says Colts are just another game but a different dynamic

Reich reiterated that he only has positive emotions for Indianapolis and initially downplayed his role in the game, saying that the matchup isn’t personal, it’s just the next game. However, after being pressed about the fact that all coaches and players say that until they win, Reich admitted that he is highly motivated for the game. He maintained that his motivation isn’t from a place a vengeance, acknowledging that the game simply has a different dynamic.

Overall, Reich had only good things to say about the Colts. That makes sense considering his relationships to people in the organization. He praised Jonathan Taylor and talked about how hard it’s going to be to stop him, and also discussed the challenge of going up against a Gus Bradley-led defense with talented players like Kenny Moore II, Shaquille Leonard, and Zaire Franklin.

Reich even spent a ton of time gushing over his successor Shane Steichen, detailing how he knew Steichen was a special coach from their time working together with the Chargers. However, all of that will be put aside on Sunday, as both men will try to lead their teams to victory against one another.

READ MORE