In the wake of the Indianapolis Colts’ historic collapse in 2025, there are going to be questions. Lots and lots of questions. Let’s deal with one of the most obvious right off the bat. Should Shane Steichen continue as the Colts’ head coach?
Yes, he should. I’m glad we could wrap that up.
There are worthy arguments to be made for moving on from Steichen after three seasons, and I want to stress that I am not currently addressing whether Steichen will remain as coach. That’s a different question. I’m just saying for now that he should be back in 2026.
At this point, perhaps I should caution you that I am making the point that Steichen should remain as the Colts’ head coach because I am about to get very angry about a strategy that borders on coaching malpractice, which was right out in the open in the Colts’ 23-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17.
Indianapolis Colts' Shane Steichen should return despite an indefensible Week 17 decision
Shane Steichen has three more years left on the contract he signed in 2023. His time in Indianapolis has defined mediocrity. He heads into a Week 18 tilt against division rival Houston with a 25-25 record. He has failed to take his team to the playoffs.
Over that period, either 22 or 23 NFL teams have played in the postseason. We won’t know the final number until Carolina plays Tampa Bay in the final week of the season. Regardless of the outcome, it is safe to say that approximately 70% of the NFL’s 32 teams will have been to the postseason during Steichen’s time as head coach, and his Colts are not one of them.
Still, we can’t ignore how well he had them playing early this season. He brought in Lou Anarumo to fix a leaky defense, and despite debilitating injuries that began last summer, that defense turned in a decent performance this year.
The offense – Steichen’s specialty – was outstanding. And then it wasn’t. That cannot all be pinned on the loss of Daniel Jones, but it was clearly a factor. Any team that loses its starting QB as well as his backup is going to struggle.
So you have a coach with a mediocre record – maybe slightly worse than that when the postseason is considered. But you also have a coach who has shown he can get a higher level of performance out of his team and who, with a little better luck, would be in the running for coach of the year and not on the hot seat. I think that the coach deserves another year.
But he has to answer for the Philip Rivers decision in Week 17.
You probably know the basic story here. The Colts were officially eliminated from playoff contention when Houston won on Saturday night. The final two games of the season should have been the perfect time for Indianapolis to play rookie QB Riley Leonard. Instead, Steichen stuck with the 44-year-old Rivers.
In theory, there are justifiable reasons for having Rivers start the game. None of them makes much sense, but they do exist.
If Leonard were injured, then of course Rivers should have played. Leonard, to the best of our knowledge, was healthy. He was healthy enough to suit up as the backup.
If Leonard were simply unprepared, that would be another reason, although one that begs a lot of questions. But it doesn’t pass the logic test. Leonard had been serving as the backup to Daniel Jones since Week 6.
He was the backup through seven weeks (as well as the bye week) during which Indy was in the thick of the playoff race. If he were deemed unprepared to go into a game, there’s no way he would have been left in that position for so long.
With regards to Week 17, Leonard likely received little prep time. Steichen had to operate as if Houston would lose on Saturday and Indy would still be alive come Sunday. So there is some credence to the thought that Leonard was not specifically prepared for this Jacksonville game.
But that’s the life of a backup QB. It is not a reason to keep Leonard on the bench.
No, the only legit reason not to play Riley Leonard on Sunday was if Steichen was completely convinced that Philip Rivers gave him the best chance to win. No matter how much you might want to audition the rookie, you have to honor the other 51 players on the roster by doing everything possible to win the game, regardless of the playoffs.
And that’s where this decision becomes indefensible. Because anyone who watched Philip Rivers play on Sunday could see that he could not operate the offense.
Rivers became a great story this year. His performance was unlikely and downright heroic. He provided some hope to a sinking ship. But in the harsh light of reality, he did not play well on Sunday. This was the performance that a lot of us feared we would see when he returned. He can still take pride in his effort and his toughness. He made a couple of nice plays.
But he was late on far too many throws. He could not put the ball where it needed to be. He could not get the ball deep. With a few exceptions, he could not throw out cuts. He could not escape pressure.
The stats tell the story. Completion percentage, yards-per-attempt, air-yards-per-attempt, and successful pass plays – every pertinent number was way down.
But here’s the most telling of them all. Philip Rivers targeted his three primary wide receivers – Josh Downs, Michael Pittman, Jr. and Alec Pierce 13 times. He completed just four of those passes. That works out to a 31% completion rate.
Coming into the game, that trio was catching 67% of their targets. They were accounting for 150 yards of offense. On Sunday, the three of them managed just 50 yards.
Riley Leonard may not have been prepared. He may have played terribly. We won’t know. But we do know he has a stronger arm than Philip Rovers and is a far more accomplished runner. Even if he didn’t start, he should have played in the second half.
Instead, Rivers threw a costly interception, and the Colts wound up squandering one of the defense's best performances. They wasted a big game from Ashton Dulin, who nearly equaled Rivers’ passing totals on just three kick returns.
OK, I’ll get down from the soapbox. I do not understand the decision, and it has me asking questions about what Steichen is doing. By itself, that is not enough for me to think he should not return as coach because he has done a lot of good things in his three seasons.
Whether he will, in fact, return is a more complex question because we do not know the status of GM Chris Ballard. If Ballard is gone, then all bets are off. But that’s a topic for another day.