Why Colts head coach Shane Steichen isn’t ready to hit the panic button just yet
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — At the beginning of the season, there was a lot of excitement about what the Indianapolis Colts could accomplish this year.
Rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson was scoring touchdowns in bunches, leading the team to a 3-2 start.
Then, Richardson sustained a season-ending shoulder injury during the Colts home win over Tennessee, and the Colts have lost three straight games since.
Now sitting at 3-5, the team prepares for a trip to Charlotte to play the 1-6 Panthers.
Colts head coach Shane Steichen continues to remind the team that there are still 9 games left in the season, plenty of time to turn things around.
“It is a long season, we’ve got to keep fighting and scratching and clawing,” Steichen said. “I’ve been a part of teams that started off 2-5, 0-4, and you make a run there at the end, but you have to keep getting stronger as the season continues.”
In 2021, Steichen served as the offensive coordinator of an Eagles team that started 2-5, then rallied to claim the seventh and final playoff spot.
This Sunday, the Colts are facing a Panthers team with a first-year quarterback in Bryce Young, a first-year offensive coordinator, and of course, a familiar head coach in Frank Reich.
Reich spent the last five years as the head coach of the Colts, with a record of 49-39-1 from 2018-2022.
Before that, Reich and Steichen spent time in San Diego on the Chargers’ offensive staff, from 2014-2015.
“I’ve got a ton of respect for Frank,” Steichen said. “[He’s a] very intelligent football coach, understands the game, but an even better human being. The two years I was with him out in San Diego, the wisdom he brought being a former player, his leadership abilities. I’ve got a ton of respect for him and I’m looking forward to seeing him on Sunday.”
The Colts will play the Panthers at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday. News 8 sports director Anthony Calhoun will be LIVE from Charlotte with Colts coverage all Sunday long.
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