Colts hire Shane Steichen as new head coach

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts have hired Shane Steichen, the offensive coordinator for the newly champion Philadelphia Eagles, as their new head coach.

Indianapolis announced the hiring Tuesday to end a search that spanned more than a month, including more than a dozen applicants. The Colts can finally set their priorities ahead of what is expected to be a tumultuous offseason.

Indianapolis’ last two coaches served as offensive coordinators for Eagles teams that reached the Super Bowl.

Frank Reich was hired in 2018 after the Eagles won their first championship since 1960, but was fired in October when the Colts’ season took a turn for the worse.

Reich was replaced by interim Jeff Saturday, who won his first game but lost his last seven. Indianapolis will have the fourth overall pick in the next draft. Saturday was one of the candidates to fill the full-time vacancy.

Now the Colts would change direction again, betting on a young quarterback. That’s why owner Jim Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard, conducting a lengthy research process, chose the 37-year-old Steichen.

With Steichen in Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts went from the second round of the 2020 draft to a standout starter in 2021 to the No. 2 seed in NFL MVP voting in 2022.

Hurts was not Steichen’s only student.

In 2020, as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers, Steichen mentored Justin Herbert during a season in which he was awarded as the league’s top offensive rookie. Previously, he worked in San Diego with retired star Philip Rivers, who later came under Reich and current Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni to Indianapolis for his final season in the NFL.

Steichen will have to reconfigure an offensive lineup that stood out among the NFL’s best from 2018-21 but fell apart in 2022. Additionally, Indy will have to decide what to do with veteran quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Nick Foles, who have poor performance last. season.