Frank Reich fired: Ranking seven candidates Colts should consider for head coaching vacancy

The Indianapolis Colts decided to move on from Frank Reich on Monday, despite his 40-33-1 record in nearly five seasons leading the team. While Reich made the playoffs twice, he had seven different quarterbacks during his time with Indianapolis and never had the same starting quarterback for two consecutive seasons. 

Indianapolis averaged just 14.7 points per game — the worst in the NFL — a product of their offensive line and rushing attack going to shambles. The Colts are 30th in the NFL in rushing (87.8 yards per game) and have allowed 35 sacks on the year (most in NFL), using several different offensive line combinations to salvage a unit that’s gotten worse each passing year. 

While general manager Chris Ballard’s job is up in the air — and with Jeff Saturday taking over as interim head coach — the Colts will have an intriguing pool of candidates to choose from for their next head coach. Reich was essentially the scapegoat for the revolving door at quarterback, so that’s the first issue the Colts need to fix. Perhaps another offensive mind would do the trick. 

There are the seven candidates the Colts should consider for their next head coach, along with how each candidate can turn around the franchise. 

1. Shane Steichen

If the Colts want to go to the Philadelphia Eagles coordinator pipeline again, they should look no further than Steichen. The Eagles offensive coordinator is getting serious consideration for head coaching jobs this year thanks to the development of Jalen Hurts and the high-powered Eagles offense. Hurts is sixth in the league in completion percentage (68.2), 10th in passing yards (2,042), second in yards per attempt (8.5) and second in quarterback rating (107.8) as the Eagles are the lone unbeaten in the league at 8-0.

An innovative play caller who gets the most out of his personnel, Steichen was responsible for the Eagles having the No. 1 run offense last year and has received rave reviews from Hurts and Justin Herbert back when he was the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Eagles are second in the NFL in points per game (28.1), fourth in yards per game (391), and have the fewest giveaways (three), while leading the league in rushing touchdowns (16). 

The Eagles rank in the top five of 14 major offensive categories, courtesy of Steichen. The 37-year-old offensive coordinator is getting a head coaching shot soon. 

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