Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Reich flies the coop to take charge of Colts
INDIANAPOLIS » The Indianapolis Colts’ second choice for head coach could turn out to be even better than the first.
And Frank Reich has the Super Bowl championship gear to prove it.
Five days after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels reneged on a deal to take the Colts’ job, Ballard hired Reich, the man who outwitted McDaniels last week and helped lead the Philadelphia Eagles to their first NFL title since 1960.
“Frank is a leader of men who will demand excellence from our players on and off the field,” Ballard said in a statement released Sunday. “I look forward to working with Frank to deliver a championship-caliber team to the city of Indianapolis.”
Terms of the deal were not immediately available, but Reich is expected to be introduced at a news conference Tuesday.
Colts officials posted a photo of Reich signing the deal on the team’s website.
The move ends a search that spanned 41 days, included two coaching announcements and the embarrassment of McDaniels changing his mind Tuesday night just eight hours after telling the Colts he’d take the job.
On Wednesday, Ballard answered questions for nearly 20 minutes before finishing with “the rivalry is back on.”
By hiring Reich, another touted offensive coordinator and a potential leading candidate next season, only added another chapter to the long and bitter series.
Exactly one week after backup quarterback Nick Foles executed an exquisite game plan to beat Tom Brady and the favored Patriots, the Colts brought back a longtime assistant who spent two seasons working with Peyton Manning.
But this wasn’t just about sending a message.
“Frank has all the ingredients of a successful head coach: intelligence, innovation, character, organizational and leadership skills, and a commanding presence,” team owner Jim Irsay said. “He also has a stellar reputation, and his myriad of life experiences and the people he has worked with make him the perfect fit for us and our fans. I feel extremely fortunate and could not be more excited for Colts Nation and the future of our franchise.”
It sure didn’t take long to make the decision.
Ballard interviewed the 56-year-old Reich on Friday, the day after Philadelphia held its victory celebration.
He replaces Chuck Pagano, who was fired hours after finishing the season with a 4-12 record and missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Reich takes over a franchise that appears to have some key pieces in place — especially if Andrew Luck is healthy.
Luck missed the entire 2017 season after having surgery for a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder. He went on injured reserve in November because of lingering pain in his right shoulder after he had started throwing a football.
On Wednesday, Ballard said Luck still hasn’t thrown a football since October.
“He’s going to do everything right to get himself ready to play and I’m very confident, he’s very confident, that he’s going to come back and prove a lot of people wrong,” Ballard said.
The Colts also have a defense that showed steady improvement throughout the season, the No. 3 overall draft pick in April, nearly $80 million to spend in free agency and a promising backup quarterback in Jacoby Brissett, who started 15 games in 2017.
And the Colts already have three assistants on Reich’s staff — probable defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Mike Phair and Dave DeGuglielmo. All three agreed to join McDaniels’ staff in Indy and have been promised by Ballard that they will remain on the staff.
Last Friday, Eagles assistant John DeFilippo took the offensive coordinator job with the Minnesota Vikings.
That opens the door for Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley to become offensive coordinator.
Reich, 56, was an assistant with the Colts from 2006-11, exiting for the Arizona Cardinals the year before Indy selected quarterback Andrew Luck with the first overall pick in the draft.
Reich’s mission is to rebuild the confidence of Luck, who didn’t play at all last year due to shoulder surgery and has missed 26 of 48 games the past three seasons.
Reich and DeFilippo built arguably the top quarterbacks room in the league in two years with the Eagles. Carson Wentz, the second pick in the 2016 draft, threw 33 touchdown passes before a season-ending torn ACL past season. Backup Nick Foles was MVP of the Super Bowl, the 29-year-old veteran producing a passer rating of 100 or more in three playoff games.
Reich will work with embattled Colts general manager Chris Ballard, who McDaniels left high and dry after agreeing to become head coach Tuesday.
Digital First Media reporter Bob Grotz contributed to this report.