Colts hire Notre Dame's Brian Mason

[JAFF]

https://www.indystar.com/story/sport...d-FeedRedesign

. INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts have gone into the college ranks and plucked a local product to be their new special teams coordinator.

Indianapolis is hiring Zionsville’s Brian Mason to be the team’s special teams coordinator, a source confirmed to IndyStar on Saturday.

New Colts head coach Shane Steichen has spent the two weeks since his hire, and a significant portion of his time at the NFL scouting combine, working on filling out his coaching staff, a process that he acknowledged this week isn’t quite complete.

“Obviously, putting together the staff is first and foremost,” Steichen said. “Still working through that, got a few more spots to fill.”


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The special teams position was arguably the biggest position left on Steichen’s list.

Former Indianapolis special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, widely considered one of the better special teams minds in the NFL, left the Colts last week to join the Browns as Cleveland’s special teams coordinator and assistant head coach, adding an extra title to the role he’d performed in Indianapolis. Ventrone, who was part of the initial round of interviews for the Colts head coaching job that went to Steichen, wants to be a head coach at some point.


Ventrone leaves big shoes for Mason to fill in a triumvirate of Colts coordinators with very different backgrounds.

Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, 56, is a veteran of more than a decade in the coordinator’s seat, plus four seasons in the head coach’s seat in Jacksonville. Veteran NFL coach Jim Bob Cooter, 38, is getting back into the offensive coordinator’s seat for the first time in the four years since his Detroit tenure in that spot ended.


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Mason, 36, is making the jump to the NFL for the first time after 15 years at the collegiate level, the last five in charge of special teams at Cincinnati and Notre Dame.

In that role, he’s routinely been considered one of the best in the country. Mason’s Fighting Irish blocked a remarkable seven punts last season and finished No. 6 in the FEI Efficiency Ratings, a performance that made him a semifinalist for the Broyles Award, annually given to the nation’s top assistant.



In Indianapolis, Mason will also play a key role in player development. Under Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard, the Colts have always considered special teams a place to develop late-round picks into polished players who can help on offense or defense.

Mason is also the first hire on Steichen’s staff who doesn’t have any prior NFL experience, although the offensive staff he’s assembled so far does have a significant college flavor to it.

Indianapolis has brought in running backs coach DeAndre Smith, who spent two decades at the collegiate level before joining the Giants last season, and tight ends coach Tom Manning, who coached in Indianapolis in 2018 but has spent most of his coaching career at Iowa State.

Quarterbacks coach Cam Turner and offensive line coach Tony Sparano, Jr., have each spent the bulk of their careers at the NFL, and Indianapolis was able to retain wide receivers coach Reggie Wayne, the legendary Colt the team finally convinced to join the coaching staff last season.


By retaining Bradley as defensive coordinator, the Colts have been able to keep most of the defensive staff so far, losing only senior defensive assistant John Fox did leave for same role in Detroit.

With Mason now on board, most of the primary position coaches appear to have been hired, although Steichen could still create or add positions, based on what the staff needs.

Earlier this week, Steichen indicated he didn’t plan to initially designate a run game coordinator or passing game coordinator, titles that have spread across the NFL in recent years to add coaches to the traditional staff.

“I think it depends on what you need from staff to staff, offense/defense, right now,” Steichen said. “If that ever came into play, and we need to use those titles, we can.”

Mason’s hire means Steichen’s hiring work is almost complete.

And not a moment too soon, given that the start of the NFL’s league year and the opening of free agency is essentially only a week away.


“I’m just finishing out the staff now,” Steichen said on Wednesday. “Once that gets finalized, I’m going to be all ball.”