Evaluating Shane Steichen’s Second Season As Colts Head Coach
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INDIANAPOLIS – Too many times in 2024, we were reminded this is the first head coaching job for Shane Steichen.
An 8-9 mark in Year 2 for Steichen means he’s a .500 coach (17-17) through two years leading the Colts.
Let’s examine the second season as head coach for Steichen:
Wins
-Some Wide Receiver Growth: To be honest, it was a battle to find specific positive areas from Steichen in 2024. The impressive offensive jolt he provided in 2023 wasn’t there. The massive quarterback project that is Anthony Richardson saw multi-layered regression. And plenty of questions were there in other things under Steichen—defensive side of the ball, questions about locker room accountability, etc. So we are scrambling a bit for “wins.” I do think the wide receiver position has its arrow pointing in a positive direction, which is not something we’ve said in quite a while. Alec Pierce leading the NFL in yards per catch and percentage of catches for a first down was the headliner of that.
-Finally, Defensive Change: Again, it’s a struggle to find real 2024 positives from Steichen. But (finally) we saw some level of accountability on the defensive side of the ball, with Steichen letting go a coach he had a long history with in Gus Bradley. This is part of the NFL business. In no way does the Colts 2024 season need to be summed up as Bradley being the “only one to blame.” But it was certainly time for a new defensive approach/voice.
Losses/To Be Determined
-Quarterback Development: When Shane Steichen was hired, and then the Colts chose Anthony Richardson a couple of months later, this project became the single biggest item for the offensive-minded head coach. After a promising Year 1 in this area, things certainly took a step back in Richardson’s development. Richardson regressed from an accuracy standpoint, turned the ball over at an alarming rate and Steichen felt the need to bench the second-year quarterback for Monday-Saturday preparation issues. None of that is good.
-Handling It All: Of the final 8 NFL teams this year, only 2 head coaches carry the offensive play calling duties, too (Andy Reid-Chiefs; Sean McVay-Rams). Steichen is one of those coaches who puts a ton on his plate. And that got to him at different points of 2024. With the season on the line in Week 15 vs. the Broncos, Steichen decided to call up a 4th quarter trick play with the always inconsistent AD Mitchell throwing a pass back to Anthony Richardson, as the Colts were having their best drive in a while across midfield. Whereas in 2023, when Steichen, the play caller, found some notable consistency, that part of his plate, along with many of the head coaching duties, was lacking.
-Messaging: Winning cures a lot. And probably would cover up a lot of what is heard in press conferences. But when you lose and have a surprise mid-season benching of your franchise quarterback, amidst a season with the Colts playing from behind record wise, your words carry more weight. Steichen’s messaging, on a variety of topics, was poor. It was often too robotic and FBI-like in a lack of transparency. And his quarterback shared confusion in why he was being benched, too. This aspect of him as a head coach was never thought to be some strength, and probably gets too much attention. But it still needs improvement.
