Entering a Week 7 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts’ coach Shane Steichen had a hot-seat meter hovering at right around 11. That’s on a scale of ten. So I’m not sure that the loss to the Vikings did anything to make Steichen’s job security any worse. But it sure didn’t do anything to make it better.
The Colts actually played a pretty good game on Sunday. Nobody gave them much of a chance to win on the road against the best defense in the league. Add in the fact that the Vikings were coming off a bye and that Indy played again without two of its best offensive weapons, Alec Pierce and Tyler Warren. It looked like a mismatch on paper.
Still, the Colts did in fact have a chance to win right up until the end. If we are to give Steichen credit for anything, it is the way he got his team to compete despite the turmoil and trade rumors that have swirled around ever since general manager Chris Ballard was fired early in the week.
Shane Steichen feels more heat than ever after the Indianapolis Colts' latest disappointment
But in a way, the fact that they played a competitive game only highlights Steichen’s most egregious failings. They lost this game in large part because the offense – which is his primary concern – was incapable of making plays when it mattered most.
Steichen’s club sits at 2-5. It is their worst seven-game record in his four years on the job. Just a year ago, they were 6-1 and looking like a Super Bowl contender. He has lost more than three-quarters of his games since that point.
Sunday’s game clearly showed two things that have caused the Colts to sink toward the bottom of the NFL in the past year. Once again, they were atrocious in the second half. We have documented this problem ad nauseam this year, so let’s not linger.
We’ll just say that Steichen’s club was shut out in the second half – a first for this season – and has now been outscored 96-62 in the second half and overtime in 2026. They are actually outscoring their opponents in the first half, but it rarely seems to matter. Other teams make adjustments, and the Colts are left in the dust.
The other brutal reality is even more distressing for a coach like Steichen, who is a proven creative offensive mind. The Colts’ offense is dreadful. And the coach seems incapable of any type of course correction. In fact, things are getting worse.
Coming into the Vikings game, Steichen’s offense was averaging almost 50 fewer yards per game than last season. More than five fewer points. Their yards-per-play is down more than a full yard. Last year, they were in the upper half of the league in most important offensive categories. Often, they ranked in the top ten.
This year, they are in the bottom half and occasionally hovering around the bottom quarter of many vital stats. This is what Steichen is supposed to bring to the table, and he is failing consistently.
The Vikings are an outstanding defense, but it is worth noting that the Colts on Sunday scored fewer points, gained fewer yards, and had a lower yards-per-play mark than Minnesota had been surrendering this year.
Steichen knew Brian Flores would blitz all day long, and still he had no counter moves. The Colts' passing attack picked up 108 yards on 22 pass attempts. That is a very poor number. And when you add in the four sacks and 44 lost yards, that number looks abysmal.
This is not all Shane Steichen’s fault. Daniel Jones is a shell of what he was last season. Losing Alec Pierce has had a devastating impact on the offense because he is really the only player they have who can consistently make a big play in the passing game.
But with Ballard gone, the buck begins and ends with the coach. It is hard to handicap his actual job security given the Ballard firing. In a counterintuitive way, that move may end up preserving Steichen’s job through the season.
Ownership may see the value in keeping some experienced leadership in place. I presume Steichen only actually gets fired during the season if he loses control of the locker room, and I don’t believe that has happened.
Yet.
So maybe that is a sign that, despite the loss, his seat is no hotter than it was after the catastrophic Week 6 loss to Tennessee. But that has little to do with how he is performing. It merely acknowledges that blowing up the entire leadership structure mid-season is not likely to achieve anything.
That said, if I were Jeff Saturday, I’d be sure to check my messages.
Current Heat: 10
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