According to The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen (subscription), Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen has been somewhat surprisingly ranked in the Top 10 of NFL offensive play callers headed into the 2025 campaign.
Nguyen surveyed six current NFL defensive coordinators and defensive assistant coaches. The results were then compiled, and the Colts’ 3rd-year coach came in at the 10th and final spot listed:
Steichen has had a couple of down years with Gardner Minshew and navigating the development of Anthony Richardson, but he’s had success with several different types of quarterbacks throughout his career, including helping Justin Herbert have one of the best rookie seasons of all time. He went from running a play-action-heavy, downfield passing attack to architecting the Eagles’ quarterback-run, RPO-style attack they still use.
“I think he’s caused more panic timeouts by defenses and opposing head coaches than almost anybody. He’s stolen more plays than a lot of people have,” an AFC defensive coach said.
From a play design standpoint, he’s one of the more creative coaches in the league, and some coaches believe the Colts offense would be one of the best if he had just good quarterback play. It’s understandable why he went with Daniel Jones if he believes he can “play the game through Jones” similarly to how McVay did with Goff in his early years with the Rams.
Honorable mentions: Kliff Kingsbury, Commanders; Mike McDaniel, Dolphins; Arthur Smith, Steelers; Drew Petzing, Cardinals; Greg Roman, Chargers; Joe Brady, Bills.
It’s not that Steichen isn’t widely regarded as a gifted offensive play caller, having called the offensive plays for the 2022 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles along the sidelines.
It’s just that after a promising rookie head coaching season in 2023, when the Steichen-led Colts ranked 10th best in total ppg [23.3 avg. ppg] (and backup quarterback Gardner Minshew made his first career Pro Bowl appearance), despite losing their starting quarterback Anthony Richardson for 13 games and their star workhorse Jonathan Taylor was limited to just 7 starts, he arguably took a step back last season until late down the stretch.
He seemed to dial up the right play more often than not during his debut head coaching campaign; however, in 2024, he, similarly to his starting quarterback, endured a sophomore slump of sorts.
The 2024 Colts ranked 17th in points per game (22.2 avg. ppg.), so they slid into being more of a league average offense. While he definitely shares in the blame for his own quarterback struggles, 2nd-year pro Anthony Richardson didn’t look comfortable in a pocket passing offense that didn’t initially utilize his mobility nearly enough and required him to hold onto the football for far too long.
It’s very possible that Steichen could regain his prior 2023 form, at least if veteran addition Daniel Jones can provide a consistently solid presence as the Colts new starting quarterback. That could mean a return to the playoffs for the Colts, who haven’t been in the postseason since the COVID-19 2020 season.
If not, Steichen could find himself as part of a sweeping house cleaning at year-end, as the Colts turnover their top leadership under transitioning ownership—following yet another season of mediocre results.
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