So let’s fast-forward back to this week. The young quarterback the Colts wound up drafting – Anthony Richardson – started four games before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury, and the Colts are one win away from the playoffs at 9-7. It was never about just the offense; hiring Steichen was about the whole team.
Entering Week 18, the Colts have 21 players on offense or defense who played significant roles on the team in 2022. Those players, collectively, have increased their Pro Football Focus overall grade by 3.9 points from last year to this year.
This is less about the subjective individual improvements guys have made – like cornerback Kenny Moore II making a jump of 21.3 points in his PFF grade – and more about the collective groundswell of improved play on both sides of the ball. Offseason additions like defensive end Samson Ebukam and wide receiver Josh Downs have helped; the quarterback position, with Richardson and then Gardner Minshew II starting, is in a solid place.
But the Colts’ best players have played better. Ask around the locker room and those players will all point to Steichen – because of who he’s proven to be as a head coach – as one of the reasons why.
“When Shane first got here, I think he put together an incredible staff — an incredible staff that believed in the players, that saw us for who we were as great players,” center Ryan Kelly said. “Unfortunately you look at last year and a lot of that was kind of tarnished. This group came back in April, speaking for our group and the entire team, with a lot to prove. And I think Shane made it very clear the expectations — the expectations were very high.”
Steichen’s impact hasn’t been confined to just his playcalling and scheming of the Colts’ offense, which enters Week 18 ranked 10th in scoring (23.6 points/game). Players on defense – who’ve worked with the same coordinator and position coaches they had in 2022 – appreciate…
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