By Jordan Long
On Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts lost to the New England Patriots 26-3, dropping their record to 3-5-1. The Colts decided to fire Head Coach Frank Reich even though they still have a shot at the postseason.
Reich was hired by the Indianapolis Colts on February 11th, 2018. Reich wasn’t their first choice though. They thought they had hired Josh McDaniels to replace Chuck Pangano who was let go following a 4-12 finish in 2017. McDaniels withdrew from the job on February 6th, 2018 and returned to New England to continue being their Offensive Coordinator. The Colts thought Reich was the right guy moving forward. Reich had served as the Philadelphia Eagles’ Offensive Coordinator from 2016 to 2017. The Colts were anticipating his offense would help turn this franchise around.
In his first season, Reich coached them to a 10-6 record. The Colts earned a playoff spot. They knocked off the Houston Texans in the Wild Card Round 21-7. Their season ended a week later in the Divisional Round losing to the Kansas City Chiefs by the score of 31-19.
In 2019, the Colts missed the playoffs with a 7-9 record. In 2020, they returned to the playoffs but were beaten in the Wild Card round by the Buffalo Bills 27-24. Last year they ended at 9-8 and didn’t reach the playoffs.
This year, there were high hopes for the Colts. They traded for veteran quarterback Matt Ryan anticipating that he would lead this team back into the postseason. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out. Ryan has been benched because of his poor play. In his 7 starts, the Colts are 3-3-1. Ryan tossed for 2,008 yards and 9 touchdowns. Ryan wasn’t reading the defenses well, forcing the ball into coverage and those have been picked off, totaling 9.
The Colts decided to go with back up Sam Ehlinger for the rest of the year. Ehlinger had never played the position before in the NFL. The Colts are 0-2 with Ehlinger as the starter. The Colts are having trouble moving the ball even with a new quarterback. Ehlinger has only passed for 304 yards but hasn’t thrown a touchdown. He has been picked off 1 time.
The Colts are struggling and it shows. They though felt it was time to let Reich go. The offense isn’t doing enough to win football games. This past Sunday, the Colts gained a total of 121 yards against the New England Patriots. Reich didn’t adjust his game plan and they lost 26-3.
Reich leaves the Colts with a record of 40-33-1, a winning percentage of .547. He guided the Colts to two playoff appearances. Reich could never get them to be a Super Bowl team.
The Colts made a puzzling move. They hired Jeff Saturday as their Interim Head Coach for the rest of the year. This doesn’t make any sense. Saturday has never coached in the NFL. His only knowledge of the game is from when he played for the franchise from 1999 to 2011. Saturday won a Super Bowl with the Colts, Super Bowl 41. Saturday also went to the Pro Bowl 13 times. Before taking the job, Saturday had been with ESPN as an NFL analyst. Saturday may know the NFL game well but that is different than drafting up a game plan and calling plays. With this hire, it also says the Colts don’t have a coach on the staff that is fit to be the Interim Head Coach.
The Colts have 8 games left. There is still a chance for them to earn a playoff spot. Once the offseason starts, the Colts will look for a new Head Coach.
For Reich, he should be on an NFL sideline next year. He knows how to run an offense. A team should hire him as their Offensive Coordinator. Who knows if Reich will ever be an NFL Head Coach again even though he was fairly successful with the Colts.
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