Shane Steichen eager to move forward with Colts as Indy contemplates offseason changes

Shane Steichen is ready to start his third season as coach of the Indianapolis Colts and he’s contemplating what changes need to be made

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A determined and disappointed coach Shane Steichen walked into the Indianapolis Colts’ complex Monday morning already knowing his fate.

He’s returning for a third season, and general manager Chris Ballard is coming back, too.

What’s next remains uncertain. Steichen said he’s evaluating whether to keep defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, whether to make other staff changes and how to keep the development of second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson on track.

But he knows another mediocre season, or worse, won’t suffice, and it’s his job to make sure next season is not a repeat of his first two with the Colts (8-9).

“We want to put a winning product on the field that our fans can be proud of,” Steichen said about 13 hours after owner Jim Irsay announced that the coach and GM would return. “I can promise you this, I’m going to be relentless in my pursuit to get this thing going in the right direction.”

Indy (8-9) showed promise at times.

Richardson orchestrated fourth-quarter road comebacks against the New York Jets and New England, capping the win over the Patriots by calling his own number on the decisive 2-point conversion with 12 seconds left.

But the inexplicable moments and games proved costly.

Jonathan Taylor’s apparent TD run at Denver that would have given the Colts a 20-7 lead in the third quarter was instead determined to be a fumble that resulted in a touchback because Taylor dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. Indy eventually lost 31-13, a defeat that helped extend its four-year playoff drought.

The Colts lost twice to Houston by a total of five points, lost yet again at Jacksonville and somehow managed to allow the New York Giants, the league’s lowest-scoring team, to put up 45 points in a playoff-eliminating loss in Week 17.

“Since I’ve been a Colt, it was our worst year defensively,” Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “I felt like, at times, we were just a bunch of individuals out there. At times, I felt like there was just a bunch of guys out there playing football. It didn’t look like a unit out there, at times, and it showed.”

The loss to the Giants was followed by reports of players being late to team meetings and rehab, something Steichen tried to explain away by acknowledging most teams have players occasionally show up late. Even former players began to question the standards and accountability inside the team complex.

So when Irsay opted to give Steichen and Ballard another chance in 2025, it came with a caveat — if things don’t improve dramatically in 2025, they may not be back in 2026.

“Those are going to be the conversations we’re going to have because, obviously, it wasn’t good enough this year,” Steichen said. “We’re going to have those tough conversations moving forward.”

Richardson’s next step

The 22-year-old Richardson showed flashes of his potential. He ran well and when paired with the resurgent Taylor — who was selected to his first Pro Bowl since 2021 — the Colts showed their ground game could be one of the league’s best.

But Richardson missed six more games — four because of injury, two when he was benched after taking himself out of a game against Houston because he was tired. And his completion percentage, 47.7%, was the lowest of any starting quarterback in the league.