Last month, the Colts announced Shane Steichen as their newest head coach. The decision comes after a long interview process where the Colts interviewed more than 10 candidates and began just three days after the 2022-23 season ended. It is safe to say the Colts were one of the most disappointing teams of the past season. They entered the season with high hopes, as fans thought the Colts would be a playoff guarantee and maybe even make a push to the Super Bowl. Yet the season went the opposite direction, eventually leading the Colts to fire head coach Frank Reich mid-season, leaving the Colts practically coachless for the rest of the season. (All due respect to Jeff Saturday, but he is not an NFL caliber head coach, yet.) But now the Colts have a head coach who has a lot of problems to fix. But Steichen is the man for the job, and he’s got an impressive resume to back up his hiring. 

Steichen oversaw one of the best offenses of the 2022-23 season as offensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. Steichen’s offensive scheme created the third highest scoring offense in the NFL in the 2022 regular season. While the Colts, they were tied for last. Steichen also helped lead the Eagles to the third highest yards per game average, while the Colts were 27th. Steichen has proved he can call plays that will make an offense successful, something the Colts will need after a season where nothing seemed to go right offensively. 

Critics may argue that Steichen won’t be able to replicate the success he had with the Eagles, as there is a large discrepancy between the offensive talent in Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Yes, Steichen called plays for an offense led by Jalen Hurts, who had weapons such as AJ Brown, Miles Sanders, Dallas Goedert, Devonta Smith at his disposal. However, there is still talent in Indy that was not used properly this past season. The Colts have a backfield led by Jonathan Taylor, who a year ago was in conversation for best running back in the NFL. While Indy’s receiving core here may not have as many household names, it still contains lots of young talent who are itching to be used properly. Steichen also has many connections with big name players who may want a fresh start somewhere else, such as Keenan Allen. Talent is available here in Indy, and Steichen has shown he can use player’s skills to their best ability. If Steichen can deploy the Colts offensive talent properly, few should be able to connect last year’s offense to the one led by Steichen. 

Steichen has also specialized in working with quarterbacks. He’s spent early portions of his career with both the Chargers and Browns as quarterback’s coach, working with raw talent such as Justin Herbert. This experience will be vital for Steichen’s success, as he will likely be mentoring a newly drafted quarterback this April. The Colts own the fourth pick in next month’s NFL Draft,  and will likely be able to choose almost any prospect. The team has been projected to draft many different quarterbacks with a variety of talent, and it will be key for Steichen to pick the guy to lead the Colts for many years consistently, something the Colts haven’t seen since Andrew Luck retired in 2019. While he is not the only person involved in the draft process, Steichen will have to play a major role in finding the guy that fits his system and who will thrive in a rejuvenated Colts offense. 

Play-calling is also going to be essential if Steichen wants to find success. It’s been proclaimed that Steichen will call the offensive plays, even after the Colts hired Jim Bob Cooter from the Detroit Lions as offensive coordinator. Steichen will need to find ways to get running back Taylor involved early while keeping the passing game moving. No one knows if the Colts will be a pass first or run first offense, but whoever the Colts draft will likely help point the direction that the teams offense will flow. With the play calling duties falling on Steichen’s shoulders, there is hope that the Colts can have offensive diversity and limit their turnovers, something the team needs to improve upon. Steichen created effective and strong offensive schemes in Philadelphia, and hopefully he’ll be able to do the same here in Indy. 

In all, Steichen has the resume to be the right man for the job. Indy needed someone who would take risks, and Steichen showed this in Philadelphia, going for it on fourth down the second-most times in the NFL while maintaining the second-best fourth down conversion rate. The Colts needed a play caller who knows how to use their best players properly, and Steichen has offered clues to how he will do this in the upcoming season. The team needed someone to develop a quarterback, and Steichen is certainly a smart choice to develop a quarterback. In other words, the  Colts needed a coach, and they got themselves one.