Despite a disappointing rookie pro coaching debut, the Colts still believe that Charlie Partridge’s best is still yet to come—with an eye toward a bounce-back 2025.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Indianapolis Colts are retaining 2nd-year defensive line coach Charlie Partridge under new veteran defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s staff:
#Colts are retaining DL coach Charlie Partridge, per sources. He’ll stay on as part of Lou Anarumo’s defensive staff, which will feature some changes.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 27, 2025
Partridge just finished his first year of serving as the Colts’ defensive line coach, having come over from Pitt, where he was their assistant head coach and defensive line coach for six seasons—having over 26 years of combined collegiate coaching experience.
That being said, the Colts collectively endured a disappointing season defensively and part of that can be attributed to the lack of consistent pass pressure up front—with the league’s 7th fewest sacks this past season (36.0 total sacks) as a defensive unit.
That number is only magnified, when the Colts set an Indianapolis franchise record with 51.0 total sacks just a year prior in 2023 (*5th most in the NFL that season) under former defensive line coach Nate Ollie, who’s now the new defensive line coach hire for the Atlanta Falcons, but surprisingly wasn’t retained a year ago by the Horseshoe.
Injuries along the Colts’ defensive line certainly accounted for some of the diminished pass rushing production and overall effectiveness, but the Colts also added first round pass rusher Laiatu Latu into the mix as well to ‘reinforce the trenches.’
Here’s hoping that with a more aggressive scheme with Anarumo’s recent arrival (*and better collective health), that Partridge and the Colts’ defensive line can have a rebound season out there during 2025.
