Indy hires another Eagles OC for top job
INDIANAPOLIS — Shane Steichen accepted his dream job Tuesday.
Now he’s waiting to see if he gets to rebuild the Indianapolis Colts around the quarterback of his dreams.
Team owner Jim Irsay ended a monthlong search that included interviews with more than a dozen candidates by hiring the 37-year-old first-time head coach who has a penchant for turning promising young quarterbacks into stars.
“We felt Shane had a lot of that offensive magic that can be hard to find, knowing we’re going to have a young quarterback to develop,” Irsay said. “He had a presence, and boy did it come through. Also his mind, thinking multiple things at once, disseminating those things quickly, I think he has a special mind for football.”
Steichen becomes the second straight former Eagles offensive coordinator to make a Super Bowl run and then leave days later for Indianapolis. Frank Reich took the same path in 2018 after Philadelphia won its first championship since 1960.
Reich was fired in October as the Colts’ season started to unravel and was replaced by interim coach Jeff Saturday, who won his first game but lost the final seven.
Indy certainly needs a new perspective — and some stability — after missing the playoffs each of the past two seasons.
Steichen becomes the Colts’ fourth coach since 2017, and they’re likely to be starting yet another different quarterback on opening day, extending their streak to seven straight seasons.
Steichen is a gruff-looking, tough-talking coach, but for a few minutes during his introductory news conference, he couldn’t hide his emotions.
“Right now, I’m a little emotional because this is a big day for me and my family,” Steichen said as he choked back tears. “We want to get a lot of things done here, and we’ve got to grind it every single day.”
Steichen’s previous success with quarterbacks probably was his biggest selling point. He worked previously with Philip Rivers and helped mentor Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers and Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia.
Most draft analysts expect Indy to use the No. 4 overall pick on a quarterback, which drew some banter between Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard about their trading options and ended with a possible hint about Irsay’s intention.
“(Ballard) likes picks, although the Alabama guy doesn’t look bad,” Irsay said, referring to Bryce Young.
Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis are the other two consensus top quarterbacks.
Indy has drafted only two quarterbacks in the first round over the past 25 years — Peyton Manning in 1998 and Andrew Luck in 2012, both with the top overall pick.
There are striking similarities between Steichen and Reich.
Both progressed through the coaching ranks in similar ways, working together in San Diego with Rivers, and both were college quarterbacks, though Steichen, unlike Reich, never took a snap in the NFL. They even seem to have similar philosophies.
“I’m a gut-feeling guy, especially on game day, as a playcaller,” Steichen said.
Still, Irsay wants different results.
Steichen takes over a team that went 4-12-1 and used three starting quarterbacks, two playcallers and two head coaches. He becomes the third 37-yearold head coach in the NFL, the youngest being Sean McVay, who won last year’s Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams.