Colts’ Shane Steichen is ‘Fired Up’ ahead of first NFL game as Head Coach
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Colts hosted their media availability for coaches and players ahead of the season opener on Sunday.
Shane Steichen spoke first, and it didn’t take long for an ear-to-ear grin to develop across the face of the first-year Head Coach.
“Fired up,” Steichen said to WISH-TV Sports Director Anthony Calhoun when asked about his head coaching debut. “Excited. Excited to go out there and work with these guys… Just excited for the opportunity, fired up for week one, we get a home game against a division opponent. Lucas Oil will be rocking, the fans will be fired up, we are excited.”
Indianapolis has not won a season opener since 2013, when Andrew Luck, TY Hilton, and Chuck Pagano represented the shoe.
When asked about the lack of success in the team’s first regular season game each year, Steichen said he had no idea such a trend existed.
“When you win your first home opener, or wherever on the road, I think it gives your team confidence,” Steichen said. “But even if you lose the game you don’t lose confidence. It’s a long season. You have 17 weeks of grinding, you don’t know how this thing is going to play out. But obviously, you want to win every game and the first one is a big one.”
It may be a long season, but is safe to say that this game will mean just a little bit more for Steichen.
“It’s wild. My first time getting into the league- it’s been now 13 years,” Steichen said. “You cherish every moment, be prepared as much as you possibly can to help this football team win.”
Players around the locker room are excited to get Coach Steichen his first win.
Grover Stewart said, “Everybody wants to put their neck on the line for him, everybody wants to win the first game.”
On Sunday at 1 p.m., the Colts will take the field for the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
At 11 a.m., you can watch the only hour-long Colts pregame show on WISH-TV. The Emmy Award-winning ‘Countdown to Kickoff‘ brings Colts experts on with AC and the WISH-TV Sports Team for an in-depth preview of the game ahead.
Analysts include former Colts head coach Chuck Pagano, former players Ken Dilger and Marlin Jackson, as well as 93.5/107.5 The Fan’s Kevin Bowen, who hosts the sports radio talk show “The Wake Up Call” on weekday mornings.
WISH-TV will also host a postgame show immediately following the conclusion of the game.
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