Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone has officially left the Indianapolis Colts for the Cleveland Browns but fans are still wondering why?
After it was announced that Bubba Ventrone was likely to leave the Indianapolis Colts for the Cleveland Browns, there was a sliver of hope that Ventrone would remain in indy. However, it was reported on Thursday that Cleveland is hiring Ventrone to be their special teams coordinator and also the team’s assistant head coach.
This is a big loss for the Colts as they now have to work on replacing Ventrone. However, Indy doesn’t just have to replace a special teams coach, it has to replace arguably the best special teams coach in the NFL. Under Ventrone, Indianapolis was consistently one of the best special teams units and that’s why Bubba Ventrone is so respected throughout the league and why he is expected to eventually be a head coach.
It was assumed that whenever he did leave Indy, it would be for a head coach position. However, Ventrone will still be a coordinator with the Browns but will also be an assistant head coach which is an elevation. However, people are left wondering if there’s more to Ventrone’s departure than just the added responsibility of being an assistant head coach.
The Colts nor Bubba Ventrone have spoke on any disputes that could’ve led to this split but people are trying to put the pieces together. Zak Keefer, the Colts reporter for The Athletic, took to Twitter to explain why he believes Ventrone is on his way to Cleveland instead of returning to Indy for a sixth season. Keefer explained that being an assistant head coach certainly gets Ventrone closer to his goal of being a head coach but Keefer also suspects that not being named interim head coach played a role in the departure.
Lots of ??s on why Bubba Ventrone would leave/why Colts let him:
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) February 23, 2023
— Plenty in building (inc. players) wanted him to get interim job in Nov. He never said it publicly, but that had to bother him.
— Gets promotion w Browns to asst. HC. He wants to be a HC, so this is a step closer.
Did Colts lose Bubba Ventrone because of their interim decision?
Unless Ventrone speaks out and explains his reasoning, we’ll never truly know. However, when Frank Reich was fired, many outside of the organization wanted Ventrone to be named interim head coach and people were frustrated that he wasn’t. If outsiders were frustrated, it’s understandable if Ventrone was frustrated as well. Could that decision have been the beginning of the end? Probably, but we don’t know that for sure.
What we do know is that Bubba Ventrone will now be coaching with the Cleveland Browns and that Shane Steichen and the Indianapolis Colts will now be searching for a new head coach.