Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Shane Steichen talks to the team Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025, during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Colts' Shane Steichen Among Most At-Risk Coaches in NFL

Originally posted on Indianapolis Colts on SI
By Jared Koch | Last updated Jun 2, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Entering the Indianapolis Colts ' 2025 season, it'll be nothing short of a massive showcase for third-year head coach Shane Steichen.

So far into his short tenure, we've seen two seasons of mediocre finishes in the standings, combined with an assortment of lapses on both sides of the ball, most importantly centering around the quarterback position.

It's been rough at times for the past two campaigns with this regime, and for year three of the Steichen era, the stakes are as high as they've ever been for the Colts' head coach–– considering in the event we see things turn south for this group across the course of the 2025 season, it could be his last.

Pro Football Focus analyst Bradley Locker broke down some of the NFL's coaches eyeing the hot seat for 2025, where Steichen was right in the mix of those potentially fighting for their jobs during the year ahead.

"Steichen has accrued only a 17-17 record with zero trips to the playoffs. Critically, his play-calling wizardry hasn’t transformed Richardson into a star despite his sky-high talent," Locker wrote. "Aside from quarterback play, the major pitfall for the Colts last year was a defense that ranked 15th in success rate allowed, 18th in PFF overall grade and 19th in PFF pass-rushing grade. The team swapped Gus Bradley for former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, who will attempt to right the ship with additions such as Charvarius Ward, Camryn Bynum, and JT Tuimoloau. Still, the buck stops here with Steichen and an offense inserting first-round pick Tyler Warren. If Steichen’s offense can’t display more coherence with either Richardson or Daniel Jones under center, it will likely spell the end of his tenure."

It was a busy offseason for Indianapolis, and one that saw a variety of new pieces added into the fold, both on the field and on the staff. That could be exactly what Steichen needs in order to lift the outcome of this Colts team for the year ahead, and perhaps for his first double-digit win season since taking over.

But that requires a lot of different aspects to be ironed out from last season into this one. Defensively, the Colts had a ton of areas to improve on as one of the worst run defenses and tackling teams in 2024, and the offensive side has the elephant in the room involving their quarterback situation.

We've seen more substantial and surprising one-year jumps across NFL history, meaning such a leap is far from impossible for Indianapolis, yet it'll certainly put a lot of pressure on this team to perform for the season ahead.

The talent is in the building for the Colts, but time will tell if Steichen is the one who can put the pieces together.