Getting it right. Indy star

[JAFF]

The Colts coaching search is officially 25 days old, though it feels much longer than that. Next Tuesday will mark three months since the franchise fired coach Frank Reich, since the infamous press conference where team owner Jim Irsay introduced Jeff Saturday, fresh off a plane, to lead his team for the final eight games of a chaotic 4-12-1 season.

The likelihood that the search hits a one-month mark is increasing. On Wednesday, the Colts added an eighth candidate to the second round of interviews. They will travel to Philadelphia on Saturday to conduct yet another interview.

They're one of two openings left in the NFL, the other being the Arizona Cardinals.

Does a process like this make the search directionless or thorough?

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard have a pair of franchise-altering decisions to make this offseason as they search for a head coach to hire and a quarterback to draft.
This was always going to take time

Typically, when searches take weeks to unfold and involve 14 candidates, it's a sign of a franchise that can't figure out what it wants. And although there is nuanced truth to that here, it's worth understanding that much of this was Chris Ballard's plan all along.


Let's unpack some of his words from Jan. 10, three days into the search.

"I’m going to tell you what I have learned: One – don’t start with an end in mind. It’s big. A lot of times what happens is you get a vision of what you want before – you’ve made your mind up and then you might ignore somebody that’s really freaking good right in front of your face," he said.


Who's still in?:Where Colts coaching search stands with third round of interviews possible

This was a lesson he learned from offering the job to Josh McDaniels in 2018 and agreeing to wait out the Super Bowl for the deal to become official. Not only must a deal actually become official first, but the playoffs can become separators for who the truly great coaches are, a window into how adversity and the bright lights challenge and mold people.


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Access the digital replica of USA TODAY and more than 200 local newspapers with your subscription.
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That January, Reich was a non-play-calling offensive coordinator for an Eagles team that was down to a backup quarterback in Nick Foles. They won their first playoff game over the Falcons 15-10, where Foles threw zero touchdowns and managed a defensive game won on a stand at the end zone. But the next two games became banner showcases for the men coordinating the offense, Reich and head coach Doug Pederson. The Eagles piled up 38 points on the Vikings and 41 on the Patriots as Foles threw for more than 700 yards with six touchdowns, one interception and efficiency off the charts.

As the Colts approached this search, they began with an initial wave populated by candidates whose seasons were over, thus their results were complete. It had names like Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.


Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is one of eight known candidates remaining for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job.
Colts mailbag: Are Jonathan Taylor or DeForest Buckner untouchable in a trade for a QB?

They had others in the playoffs they knew they'd be interested in, like Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator whom Ballard worked with in Kansas City; and Shane Steichen, the Eagles offensive coordinator calling plays for the fastest-ascending offense in the NFL. But they kept looking for more candidates with a chance to blow them away, and the playoffs became a testing ground.


NFL rules forced some of the timeline. Teams must conduct a first interview with a candidate before his team's divisional playoff game or wait until after the conference championship round. Interviews picked up with both Giants coordinators, Wink Martindale and Mike Kafka; as well as Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. The Colts had a session scheduled with 49ers defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans for the day before his team's game against the Cowboys, but he backed out.

Some of the candidates receiving second interviews showed their best cards this month. Martindale devised the game plan against the Vikings that every coordinator talks about but few pull off of forcing anyone but Justin Jefferson to beat him. Jefferson had seven catches for 47 yards as the Giants held on with a late stop. Callahan took a Bengals offense missing three starting linemen into snowy and raucous Buffalo and delivered a punishing performance in the trenches to end the Bills' season.

"We’ve got a very detailed process put together on the traits and attributes we’re looking for in the head coach," Ballard said. "Don’t care which side of the ball."

Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia has emerged as a candidate for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job due to his two decades of NFL experience and 7-5 interim stint that got the Las Vegas Raiders to the playoffs in 2021.
He's held to that, too, with at least two interview candidates from all three phases of the game, including special teams. Whereas many teams searching to draft and develop a quarterback will zero in on a prototype – often a Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid disciple – Ballard made a promise to give all types of coaches a shot.


It's the nature of a search that involves Saturday, a candidacy that is everything but conventional. And given that Ballard is ultimately recommending a hire to Irsay, striking that balance of traits and football acumen became everything.

The perfect fit does not exist

With all the talk of a thorough process in mind, if the Colts had found the perfect candidate and could hire him, they would not still be looking. That's what makes their opening unique from the three that have been filled so far:

The Panthers were coming off a 7-10 season where an interim coach in Steve Wilks made them competitive with a 6-6 finish but fell short due to a revolving door of retread and backup quarterbacks. They knew they didn't want a CEO-style coach after firing Matt Rhule. They wanted more NFL and head coaching experience than he had so as best to set a rookie quarterback up for success. Wilks' interim run and internal support made him an easy finalist. But no candidate could matched Reich's mix of playing and coaching experience at quarterback nor his winning record as a head coach. For Reich, who considers Charlotte a second home, it was an easy fit.
The Texans were coming off a second-straight one-and-done coach as part of a lengthy divorce from the Bill O'Brien and Deshaun Watson eras. With cap space cleared and a top-five pick in store, they were ready to find a talented young coach and a talented young quarterback to grow and build a culture together. The hottest young candidate on the market happened to be a franchise legend in Ryans who called this his dream job.
The Broncos were fresh off a season of high hopes and disastrous results, firing a first-year coach before it even ended. Nathaniel Hackett seemed overwhelmed by the role of head coach, in staffing and game management and connecting an offense to Russell Wilson. Having invested four high draft picks and $161 million guaranteed in a quarterback, a deep-pocketed ownership group took a swing on a special coach to fix what's already in place. They went after Jim Harbaugh, Ryans and Sean Payton, and Payton accepted the job.

The Colts are in a different spot than these teams, and different than they were in 2017, when they had a franchise quarterback and the objective was all about protecting him. Since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement, the four Week 1 starting quarterbacks in four seasons has taken a toll, and they can finally address it with a top-5 draft pick this spring.

But for a rookie to have a chance, the Colts also have to fix the cultural mess that came with the unpredictable and unprecedented changes at quarterback and head coach who set up a 1-9 finish after a 3-3-1 start. In Ballard's words, the Colts have to restore the "competitive confidence" that noticeably disappeared in games, from the linemen who didn't rush to the aid of an injured Foles in New York to their historic collapses against the Vikings and Cowboys.

Jeff Saturday went 1-7 in his interim coaching stint with the Indianapolis Colts and is now a candidate for the permanent job.
"There is a high level of dysfunction in that building right now," said a person with intimate knowledge of the Colts' day-to-day operations. "The hard part of the NFL is, if the owner is making disastrous decisions, there is no one to stop them. The players know it and see it. It's a really difficult mold to break.


"They need to ID, evaluate, draft and develop a quarterback, and if they miss, it's another 5-7 years of the same stuff."

The Colts were suddenly looking for a mix of traits and skills – strong leadership to set a culture and a powerful plan to maximize a rookie quarterback's skill set – with a public display of toxicity that could drive some candidates away. The coaches who appeared best equipped to check these boxes were Harbaugh, Payton and Ryans, and none interviewed with the Colts.

Additionally, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson backed out of the running to stay with their current teams.

Finding a match in an unconventional way

These interviews have become about more than falling in love with the right candidate. They've also been about selling that candidate on their ability to come together and build a roster and an environment for the right rookie quarterback.


It was also for expressing ideas on who that rookie quarterback could be.

The building badly needs alignment, rather than another failed marriage between a coach and general manager, like Ballard and Chuck Pagano was and how some in and around the Colts fear Ballard and Saturday could be.

They need a candidate who is all-in like McDaniels wasn't.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is interviewing for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job while also preparing his team to play in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
So if that candidate is coaching in the Super Bowl, as Steichen is, the Colts could owe it to themselves and their scars to wait out the process this time. That game can offer another data point, putting into motion the thoughts and ideas voiced in hours of interviews on the brightest stage and against the Chiefs, the roster Ballard knows best aside from his own. After the two sides speak Saturday, they won't be able to again until after the Super Bowl.

Extending the search isn't about locking on to a candidate. It can also be about not eliminating one just because the timing with the Super Bowl is difficult, the way it once was with Reich, before his offense ran circles around Bill Belichick's Patriots with a backup quarterback and crystalized a fit.


In the meantime, the Colts can circle back with other candidates with upside, as they have with Glenn. They can decide if any one of them suddenly rises above the rest, the way Ryans did for the Texans and Reich did for the Panthers.

Their patience comes with risk. The longer this is strung out, the more coaches could decide it's not for them. It's become a test of how badly a coach wants this job, but that was one of the goals all along.

The Colts could fall behind in the race for assistant coaches that is starting across the league. That can disrupt the staffing plans their candidates have pitched. But given that they once mashed together a staff of McDaniels' assistants with Reich's, that piece is less daunting than hiring the wrong boss.

The Colts have some assistants under contract they like, such as special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and his companions on the defensive staff. It's possible a match emerges with a candidate who is lacking in those areas, or they can force one to come up with a better staff.


An unprecedented season of disruption has led to an unprecedented search for answers. But as the Colts enter a critical inflection point in franchise history, the hourglass is not what scares them. The risk of getting trapped does.

"I don’t care if it takes until mid-February to hire the head coach," Ballard said. "It’s about getting it right.”

[njcoltfan]

Originally Posted by JAFF

The Colts coaching search is officially 25 days old, though it feels much longer than that. Next Tuesday will mark three months since the franchise fired coach Frank Reich, since the infamous press conference where team owner Jim Irsay introduced Jeff Saturday, fresh off a plane, to lead his team for the final eight games of a chaotic 4-12-1 season.

The likelihood that the search hits a one-month mark is increasing. On Wednesday, the Colts added an eighth candidate to the second round of interviews. They will travel to Philadelphia on Saturday to conduct yet another interview.

They're one of two openings left in the NFL, the other being the Arizona Cardinals.

Does a process like this make the search directionless or thorough?

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard have a pair of franchise-altering decisions to make this offseason as they search for a head coach to hire and a quarterback to draft.
This was always going to take time

Typically, when searches take weeks to unfold and involve 14 candidates, it's a sign of a franchise that can't figure out what it wants. And although there is nuanced truth to that here, it's worth understanding that much of this was Chris Ballard's plan all along.


Let's unpack some of his words from Jan. 10, three days into the search.

"I’m going to tell you what I have learned: One – don’t start with an end in mind. It’s big. A lot of times what happens is you get a vision of what you want before – you’ve made your mind up and then you might ignore somebody that’s really freaking good right in front of your face," he said.


Who's still in?:Where Colts coaching search stands with third round of interviews possible

This was a lesson he learned from offering the job to Josh McDaniels in 2018 and agreeing to wait out the Super Bowl for the deal to become official. Not only must a deal actually become official first, but the playoffs can become separators for who the truly great coaches are, a window into how adversity and the bright lights challenge and mold people.


SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE
News Across the U.S.
Access the digital replica of USA TODAY and more than 200 local newspapers with your subscription.
Click "Universal" in the eNewspaper
That January, Reich was a non-play-calling offensive coordinator for an Eagles team that was down to a backup quarterback in Nick Foles. They won their first playoff game over the Falcons 15-10, where Foles threw zero touchdowns and managed a defensive game won on a stand at the end zone. But the next two games became banner showcases for the men coordinating the offense, Reich and head coach Doug Pederson. The Eagles piled up 38 points on the Vikings and 41 on the Patriots as Foles threw for more than 700 yards with six touchdowns, one interception and efficiency off the charts.

As the Colts approached this search, they began with an initial wave populated by candidates whose seasons were over, thus their results were complete. It had names like Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.


Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is one of eight known candidates remaining for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job.
Colts mailbag: Are Jonathan Taylor or DeForest Buckner untouchable in a trade for a QB?

They had others in the playoffs they knew they'd be interested in, like Eric Bieniemy, the Chiefs offensive coordinator whom Ballard worked with in Kansas City; and Shane Steichen, the Eagles offensive coordinator calling plays for the fastest-ascending offense in the NFL. But they kept looking for more candidates with a chance to blow them away, and the playoffs became a testing ground.


NFL rules forced some of the timeline. Teams must conduct a first interview with a candidate before his team's divisional playoff game or wait until after the conference championship round. Interviews picked up with both Giants coordinators, Wink Martindale and Mike Kafka; as well as Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan. The Colts had a session scheduled with 49ers defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans for the day before his team's game against the Cowboys, but he backed out.

Some of the candidates receiving second interviews showed their best cards this month. Martindale devised the game plan against the Vikings that every coordinator talks about but few pull off of forcing anyone but Justin Jefferson to beat him. Jefferson had seven catches for 47 yards as the Giants held on with a late stop. Callahan took a Bengals offense missing three starting linemen into snowy and raucous Buffalo and delivered a punishing performance in the trenches to end the Bills' season.

"We’ve got a very detailed process put together on the traits and attributes we’re looking for in the head coach," Ballard said. "Don’t care which side of the ball."

Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia has emerged as a candidate for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job due to his two decades of NFL experience and 7-5 interim stint that got the Las Vegas Raiders to the playoffs in 2021.
He's held to that, too, with at least two interview candidates from all three phases of the game, including special teams. Whereas many teams searching to draft and develop a quarterback will zero in on a prototype – often a Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid disciple – Ballard made a promise to give all types of coaches a shot.


It's the nature of a search that involves Saturday, a candidacy that is everything but conventional. And given that Ballard is ultimately recommending a hire to Irsay, striking that balance of traits and football acumen became everything.

The perfect fit does not exist

With all the talk of a thorough process in mind, if the Colts had found the perfect candidate and could hire him, they would not still be looking. That's what makes their opening unique from the three that have been filled so far:

The Panthers were coming off a 7-10 season where an interim coach in Steve Wilks made them competitive with a 6-6 finish but fell short due to a revolving door of retread and backup quarterbacks. They knew they didn't want a CEO-style coach after firing Matt Rhule. They wanted more NFL and head coaching experience than he had so as best to set a rookie quarterback up for success. Wilks' interim run and internal support made him an easy finalist. But no candidate could matched Reich's mix of playing and coaching experience at quarterback nor his winning record as a head coach. For Reich, who considers Charlotte a second home, it was an easy fit.
The Texans were coming off a second-straight one-and-done coach as part of a lengthy divorce from the Bill O'Brien and Deshaun Watson eras. With cap space cleared and a top-five pick in store, they were ready to find a talented young coach and a talented young quarterback to grow and build a culture together. The hottest young candidate on the market happened to be a franchise legend in Ryans who called this his dream job.
The Broncos were fresh off a season of high hopes and disastrous results, firing a first-year coach before it even ended. Nathaniel Hackett seemed overwhelmed by the role of head coach, in staffing and game management and connecting an offense to Russell Wilson. Having invested four high draft picks and $161 million guaranteed in a quarterback, a deep-pocketed ownership group took a swing on a special coach to fix what's already in place. They went after Jim Harbaugh, Ryans and Sean Payton, and Payton accepted the job.

The Colts are in a different spot than these teams, and different than they were in 2017, when they had a franchise quarterback and the objective was all about protecting him. Since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement, the four Week 1 starting quarterbacks in four seasons has taken a toll, and they can finally address it with a top-5 draft pick this spring.

But for a rookie to have a chance, the Colts also have to fix the cultural mess that came with the unpredictable and unprecedented changes at quarterback and head coach who set up a 1-9 finish after a 3-3-1 start. In Ballard's words, the Colts have to restore the "competitive confidence" that noticeably disappeared in games, from the linemen who didn't rush to the aid of an injured Foles in New York to their historic collapses against the Vikings and Cowboys.

Jeff Saturday went 1-7 in his interim coaching stint with the Indianapolis Colts and is now a candidate for the permanent job.
"There is a high level of dysfunction in that building right now," said a person with intimate knowledge of the Colts' day-to-day operations. "The hard part of the NFL is, if the owner is making disastrous decisions, there is no one to stop them. The players know it and see it. It's a really difficult mold to break.


"They need to ID, evaluate, draft and develop a quarterback, and if they miss, it's another 5-7 years of the same stuff."

The Colts were suddenly looking for a mix of traits and skills – strong leadership to set a culture and a powerful plan to maximize a rookie quarterback's skill set – with a public display of toxicity that could drive some candidates away. The coaches who appeared best equipped to check these boxes were Harbaugh, Payton and Ryans, and none interviewed with the Colts.

Additionally, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson backed out of the running to stay with their current teams.

Finding a match in an unconventional way

These interviews have become about more than falling in love with the right candidate. They've also been about selling that candidate on their ability to come together and build a roster and an environment for the right rookie quarterback.


It was also for expressing ideas on who that rookie quarterback could be.

The building badly needs alignment, rather than another failed marriage between a coach and general manager, like Ballard and Chuck Pagano was and how some in and around the Colts fear Ballard and Saturday could be.

They need a candidate who is all-in like McDaniels wasn't.

Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen is interviewing for the Indianapolis Colts' head coaching job while also preparing his team to play in the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
So if that candidate is coaching in the Super Bowl, as Steichen is, the Colts could owe it to themselves and their scars to wait out the process this time. That game can offer another data point, putting into motion the thoughts and ideas voiced in hours of interviews on the brightest stage and against the Chiefs, the roster Ballard knows best aside from his own. After the two sides speak Saturday, they won't be able to again until after the Super Bowl.

Extending the search isn't about locking on to a candidate. It can also be about not eliminating one just because the timing with the Super Bowl is difficult, the way it once was with Reich, before his offense ran circles around Bill Belichick's Patriots with a backup quarterback and crystalized a fit.


In the meantime, the Colts can circle back with other candidates with upside, as they have with Glenn. They can decide if any one of them suddenly rises above the rest, the way Ryans did for the Texans and Reich did for the Panthers.

Their patience comes with risk. The longer this is strung out, the more coaches could decide it's not for them. It's become a test of how badly a coach wants this job, but that was one of the goals all along.

The Colts could fall behind in the race for assistant coaches that is starting across the league. That can disrupt the staffing plans their candidates have pitched. But given that they once mashed together a staff of McDaniels' assistants with Reich's, that piece is less daunting than hiring the wrong boss.

The Colts have some assistants under contract they like, such as special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone, defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and his companions on the defensive staff. It's possible a match emerges with a candidate who is lacking in those areas, or they can force one to come up with a better staff.


An unprecedented season of disruption has led to an unprecedented search for answers. But as the Colts enter a critical inflection point in franchise history, the hourglass is not what scares them. The risk of getting trapped does.

"I don’t care if it takes until mid-February to hire the head coach," Ballard said. "It’s about getting it right.”

The longer this search goes, the % goes up in favor of Saturday!!!

[IndyNorm]

Originally Posted by njcoltfan

The longer this search goes, the % goes up in favor of Saturday!!!

Maybe. It could be that the leader is either Bieniemy or Steichen, so we have to wait until after the Superbowl to officially announce and hire either of them.

[rcubed]

Yeah I think they want steichen and have to wait. Morris is second choice. Obviously this is JMO.

[Oldcolt]

Originally Posted by rcubed

Yeah I think they want steichen and have to wait. Morris is second choice. Obviously this is JMO.

This makes more sense than waiting for Saturday. If Irsay was that dead set on Saturday he would have hired him after the second round, at least that is what I would like to think. If it is Saturday I will still be a Colt fan (no choice-I don't switch teams because they suck) but will be bummed and will most likely be a much more of a casual fan as it will be impossible for me to get psyched about our potential. I can handle a rebuild but not one that has zero chance of succeeding. .

[Chromeburn]

Why would they wait for Saturday? They could just hire him now. I think it’s pretty obvious the leader is a SB coach.

[Hoopsdoc]

Originally Posted by njcoltfan

The longer this search goes, the % goes up in favor of Saturday!!!

Keefer thinks the longer this goes on, the less chance it ends up being Saturday.

The logic being they would have already hired him. There would be no need to go through 3 rounds of interviews.

I hope he’s right.

[ChaosTheory]

The only plausible reason I can think of for waiting and still taking Saturday is if he's concerned about outside perception. This would show they really did their due diligence and Saturday came out on top rather than the popular idea that Irsay made his mind up long ago.

Not saying I believe that. I tend to agree it looks less likely it's Saturday. Just not 100%.

[njcoltfan]

Originally Posted by IndyNorm

Maybe. It could be that the leader is either Bieniemy or Steichen, so we have to wait until after the Superbowl to officially announce and hire either of them.

I sure hope that your right and I'm wrong !!

[JAFF]

Originally Posted by njcoltfan

The longer this search goes, the % goes up in favor of Saturday!!!

If they are waiting to take Saturday until after the Super Bowl, doesnt that make it harder on him to hire a competent staff? Hire Saturday now or two weeks from now, what perception is changed?