It took a little extra time for the Indianapolis Colts to find their newest head coach. So did the organization wind up making the “Reich” decision?
Dating back to the start of 2017, there are now seven teams with head coaches that didn’t open the season with their current clubs. The New York Giants are now under the guidance of Pat Shurmur. The Oakland Raiders brought back Jon Gruden for a second tour of duty. The Tennessee Titans hired Mike Vrabel while the Arizona Cardinals are now led by Steve Wilks. The Chicago Bears’ new sideline leader is Matt Nagy. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions opted for former New England Patriots’ defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Speaking of the defending AFC champions, their offensive coordinator appeared ready to become the new head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. But Josh McDaniels obviously had a massive change of heart and decided to remains in Foxborough.
Meanwhile, the opposing OC on Super Bowl Sunday was Philadelphia’s Frank Reich. And the reigning Super Bowl champion now has a new home and a new job. And he wasted little time talking about the kind of team he expects to put on the field.
"“We will be the toughest (team),” said Reich earlier this week (via Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star). “Both mentally and physically…We will be the most disciplined team. We will have structure, we will have a system and we will have the processes that cultivate discipline.”"
The former journeyman quarterback, best known for helping orchestrate the greatest comeback in any NFL regular season or postseason game (see Bills’ vs. Oilers in 1992 AFC Wild Card Round), knows his way around this franchise.
He was an assistant under both Tony Dungy (2008) and Jim Caldwell (2009-11) during his tenure with the club. Now he looks to get the Colts back on track after three subpar years — much of that without starting signal-caller Andrew Luck.
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So what should we look for from the Indianapolis Colts this summer and season? It’s safe to say that Frank Reich learned a lot from his previous employers. And his most recent franchise just came away with a Super Bowl trophy thanks in large part to a team that stressed standout play on both the offensive and defensive lines.
It will be up to the new head coach and general manager Chris Ballard to find the right combinations in these areas. And that’s regardless of who’s throwing the football in 2018.