Colts announce Steichen as head coach: 'Brilliant football mind'
The Indianapolis Colts confirmed Shane Steichen as their new head coach on Tuesday.
The Colts gave Steichen a six-year contract, a source told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The 37-year-old spent the last two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive coordinator, helping their offense rank third in both points and yards in 2022.
The Colts zeroed in on Steichen last week, and the 37-year-old flew to Indianapolis to finalize a deal Monday following Philadelphia's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII. He's the second-youngest head coach in Colts history.
"High integrity. High character. Brilliant football mind. Philosophically, we see the game the same way, and that's critical," Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard said Tuesday during Steichen's introductory press conference, according to Kevin Bowen of 1075 The Fan.
Steichen joined the Eagles in 2021 after spending the previous seven years with the Los Angeles Chargers in multiple roles, including offensive coordinator (2019-20).
Indianapolis fired head coach Frank Reich midway through the 2022 season and replaced him with interim head coach Jeff Saturday, who had never coached above the high school level. Saturday, Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, and Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia were among the finalists for the Colts' vacancy.
Ballard said he doesn't see any issues with how long Indianapolis searched for its next sideline boss.
"I don't ever understand what the hurry is. It's about getting it right," he said, according to Joel A. Erickson of IndyStar.
A former UNLV quarterback who took over play-calling duties in November 2021, Steichen helped Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts post a career year with 22 touchdown passes and 13 rushing scores this season while guiding Philadelphia to an NFC-best 14-3 record.
"We're going to throw to score points in this league and run to win," Steichen said Tuesday.
Steichen inherits a Colts team that ranked 30th in points scored and 28th in points allowed this season and has major questions at quarterback after a disappointing campaign with veteran Matt Ryan under center. Indianapolis owns the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
"We felt that Shane had a lot of that offensive magic," said Colts owner Jim Irsay. He added that Steichen is a good fit "knowing that we're going to have to find that young quarterback to develop."