What's the argument for each of the Colts' remaining 7 head-coach candidates? (2023)

The dominoes are starting to fall. And, suddenly, there are just two head-coaching openings left.

It’s been three weeks since the regular season ended, and after a quiet start to the coaching cycle that saw just one hire across 21 days — that’d be former Colts head coach Frank Reich landing in Carolina — things heated up rather quickly Tuesday, with the Broncos trading for Sean Payton and the Texans hiring former franchise great DeMeco Ryans.

That leaves just the Colts and Cardinals with vacancies.

Indianapolis is making progress, incremental as it might seem, as general manager Chris Ballard has cut his list of candidates in half. After speaking with 13 coaches for first-round interviews over video, more than any team has in at least four years, Ballard and the Colts began second-round interviews last week.

As of now, seven names remain on the list: interim coach Jeff Saturday, Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia, Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.

(Evero has reportedly already interviewed with the Cardinals; Callahan has been requested.)

That means the Colts are interviewing more candidates a second time around than they did during the entire process that led to (nearly) hiring Josh McDaniels after the 2017 season. The Colts conducted just eight total interviews across two coaching searches that year before hiring Reich after McDaniels backed out.

They’re looking at 20 or more this time. And the Colts haven’t ruled out bringing candidates back for third interviews.

The recent sit-downs are much more thorough and expansive than the first-round interviews, which were only around four hours in length. The Colts now are meeting with every candidate in person, which offers a much more personal dynamic than video. Several of the sit-downs have lasted up to 11 hours, starting around 10:30 a.m. and lasting until 9:30 p.m. With more interviews set up this week with coordinators who were coaching in last weekend’s conference championship games, don’t be surprised if the process lingers into Super Bowl week.

Furthermore, based on recent conversations I’ve had with those familiar with the search, I don’t get the sense that Saturday remains a front-runner for the job, despite what some national reports have indicated. We know, with this franchise, that anything is possible — and owner Jim Irsay will make the final call — but at this point, a Saturday hire seems less likely.

Here’s a closer look at the seven remaining candidates, and a case for each, including Saturday:

Shane Steichen

Age: 37

Current role: Eagles offensive coordinator (2021-)

NFL coaching experience: 12 years

Head coach before? No

Notable players coached: Philip Rivers, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hurts

The case for Steichen: He’s probably the hottest coaching candidate from the fast-rising offensive coordinator pool because his fingerprints are all over Jalen Hurts’ ascension into MVP finalist this season. Steichen has masterfully married Hurts’ running ability with his improvement as a passer since taking over the Eagles’ play-calling duties in November 2021. Hurts has become one of the most dynamic players in the league, and the Eagles offense has taken off. Philadelphia has outscored opponents 69-14 through two playoff games. And across the last two seasons, no team in football has piled up more rushing yards (5,224) than the Eagles.

The question Indy has to be asking itself: Could Steichen work similar magic with, say, Bryce Young? Or C.J. Stroud? Or Will Levis?

With a rookie quarterback (almost assuredly) on his way to Indianapolis, it’s not that hard to picture the Colts betting on Steichen’s proven ability with quarterbacks. There is ample evidence to support that premise: If you get the hire right, an offensive coach is the way to go these days.

Why it won’t happen: The Colts reportedly plan to travel to Philadelphia this week to meet with Steichen, who’s busy preparing for Super Bowl LVII. He doesn’t have the experience as some of the other finalists — namely Morris, Bisaccia and Martindale — but my understanding is the Colts aren’t scared away by that. They know this hire is a bet not necessarily on what the coach is at this particular moment, but on what the coach can grow into. If they side with Steichen, that’s a gamble they’re comfortable taking.

Ejiro Evero

Age: 42

Current role: Broncos defensive coordinator (2022-)

NFL coaching experience: 15 years

Head coach before? No

Notable players coached: Pat Surtain II, Justin Simmons, Jalen Ramsey

The case for Evero: Another hot candidate during this coaching cycle — Evero reportedly met with all five teams — he was lauded for the job he did in Denver this year, leading a defense that was among the league’s best. What makes this even more impressive was that the Broncos offense was among the league’s worst, ratcheting up the pressure on Evero’s unit to consistently perform, and for most of the year, carry the team.

The Broncos finished seventh in yards allowed per game, second in third-down rate and seventh in defensive EPA, and this was with a pass rush hindered by injuries to Randy Gregory — the Broncos’ headline offseason acquisition — and the midseason trade of Bradley Chubb to Miami. Players love playing for Evero, too, and publicly lobbied for him to remain in Denver, either as head coach or defensive coordinator. Evero’s coaching mentors are some of the most respected defense minds in the league over the last few decades: Monte Kiffin, Vic Fangio, Dom Capers and Wade Phillips.

“I could be up here for hours just talking about how amazing of a coach and man he is,” said Simmons, who had a career-best six interceptions under Evero this season. “I’m just really appreciative of him, and he deserves (a head-coaching opportunity).”

Why it won’t happen: Evero has been an NFL coordinator for just one season. It would be a massive jump for a fairly young coach who’s never been a head coach at any level.

Raheem Morris

Age: 46

Current role: Rams defensive coordinator (2021-)

NFL coaching experience: 21 years

Head coach before? Yes (17-31 in three seasons with Tampa Bay; 4-7 as Atlanta’s interim head coach in 2020)

Notable players coached: Aaron Donald, Julio Jones, Ronde Barber

The case for Morris: Morris has interviewed well with the Colts, and brings much of what the franchise values. He’s among the most respected assistants in the league and is the only candidate left with head-coaching experience on his resume (not including interim). He’s got the approval of some of the best coaches in the game, starting with his current boss, Sean McVay, and brought with him an impressive level of accountability regarding what went wrong during his three years leading the Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011.

On that note, during a lengthy interview with Ryan Clark’s “The Pivot” after last year’s Super Bowl win with the Rams, Morris opened up on the topic. Pressed on whether he believes he got a fair shot with Tampa Bay — and how race plays a role in the hiring of head coaches in today’s NFL — he owned the team’s failures.

“I lost those games, I did,” Morris said of his time with the Bucs. “I gotta own that.”

It’s also not lost on Ballard that some of the top coaches in the league — among them Bill Belichick and Andy Reid — were fired after their first head-coaching stints, then excelled at their next stop. This might be Morris’ shot to prove he can do it better than he did in Tampa almost a decade and a half ago.

Why it won’t happen: It’s still a bit of a gamble to go with a defensive head coach (though Morris does have some experience coaching offense) in an increasingly quarterback-driven league. Plus, it’d be essential for Morris to land a top-flight offensive coordinator to groom the Colts’ quarterback of the future. And if he aces the offensive coordinator hire, Morris would likely face the possibility of losing that coach to a head job somewhere down the line.

Wink Martindale

Age: 59

Current role: Giants defensive coordinator (2022-)

NFL coaching experience: 19 years

Head coach before? No

Notable players coached: Ray Lewis, Champ Bailey, C.J. Mosley

The case for Martindale: He’d be a bit of a surprise — Martindale, in a lot of ways, doesn’t fit the mold of where the league is going with head-coaching hires. Teams as of late have preferred young offense minds; he’s a veteran defensive coach who hasn’t been a target of teams in the past. But his track record as a coordinator is impressive: Martindale led a defense in Baltimore that was top five in points allowed three times in five years, and he had an excellent debut season with the Giants.

Martindale says what he thinks, even if that ruffles some feathers — a bit like Bruce Arians, but on the defensive side. Maybe this has turned off some teams in the past, but not the Colts, not so far at least. They could use some honesty when it comes to evaluating all that’s gone wrong over the past 12 months.

Why it won’t happen: Martindale seems like a long shot, due to the aforementioned reasons. He also doesn’t seem in a big hurry to leave New York, which he’s called the greatest city in the world, and his post as Giants defensive coordinator “a destination job, not a stepping stone.” If the Colts are looking for a head coach adept at addressing their biggest problems — almost all of which are on offense — that doesn’t bode well for Martindale or the other defensive candidates.

Rich Bisaccia

Age: 62

Current role: Packers special teams coordinator (2022-)

NFL coaching experience: 21 years

Head coach before? Yes (7-5 as Raiders interim coach in 2021)

The case for Bisaccia: Bisaccia overachieved in a difficult situation as the Raiders’ interim coach in 2021, taking over for Jon Gruden six games into the season and leading Las Vegas to the playoffs — the first time an interim coach had done that in the NFL in nine years, dating to Arians and the Colts in 2012. (Bisaccia even received a few votes for Coach of the Year.) Players openly lobbied for him to get the permanent job, but Raiders owner Mark Davis picked McDaniels instead, and Las Vegas backslid considerably this season.

A coach since 1983, Bisaccia climbed from Wayne State to South Carolina to Clemson before earning his first job in the NFL, in 2002, coordinating Gruden’s special teams unit for a Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl XXXVII. He’s been a special teams coordinator for five teams since and has two decades of NFL coaching experience. He’s widely respected by coaches and players around the league.

Why it won’t happen: Special teams coordinators rarely secure head-coaching jobs, and the Ravens’ John Harbaugh is the notable exception of it working out well. Joe Judge’s disastrous run with the Giants offers a look at how poorly it can go. Judge, then the Patriots’ special teams coordinator under Bill Belichick, was a surprise hire in 2020. He went 10-23 over two seasons before being fired and is now back on Belichick’s staff.

The Packers weren’t all that great on special teams this past year. Bisaccia feels like a long shot at best.

Brian Callahan

Age: 38

Current role: Bengals offensive coordinator (2019-)

NFL coaching experience: 13 years

Head coach before? No

Notable players coached: Peyton Manning, Joe Burrow, Matthew Stafford

The case for Callahan: The son of longtime NFL coach Bill Callahan, formerly the Raiders head coach and currently the Browns’ offensive line coach, Brian Callahan is the second candidate on this list (along with Steichen) with an offensive background tied specifically to quarterbacks. It probably doesn’t hurt his chances that he worked with Manning in Denver, and has helped mold Burrow into one of the league’s best passers over the last two seasons. It’s worth noting that head coach Zac Taylor calls the plays in Cincinnati.

The Bengals have finished seventh in points in each of the past two seasons, despite inconsistencies along the offensive line, something the Colts are well familiar with.

Like what Steichen has done with Hurts in Philadelphia, Callahan’s track record — especially as of late with Burrow — has to be attractive to a franchise that will soon be molding its own young quarterback.

Why it won’t happen: Callahan’s young, and though he has two more seasons of coordinator experience than Steichen, it’s hard to decipher just how much of the Bengals’ recent success is simply due to Burrow’s ability — or Taylor’s scheme, for that matter. Still, Callahan is a rising candidate in the coaching ranks; if he doesn’t land with Indianapolis or Arizona during this year’s cycle, he’ll undoubtedly get more chances down the line.

Jeff Saturday

Age: 47

Current role: Colts interim head coach

NFL coaching experience: Eight games

Head coach before? Yes (1-7 as the Colts’ interim coach last season)

Notable players coached: Matt Ryan, Jonathan Taylor, Quenton Nelson

The case for Saturday: It would be an out-of-the-box hire, for sure, but those who’ve followed this franchise over the past year know that’d be nothing new around here. Saturday stands a chance as long as Irsay is the one making this hire, though I’m increasingly of the belief it remains unlikely.

Why it won’t happen: The Colts regressed noticeably over the second half of the season, lost their final seven games and were outscored by 87 points in the process. They were steamrolled 33-0 in the fourth quarter in Dallas, then gave up the biggest lead in NFL history in Minnesota two weeks later.

Would things be different if Saturday were given an entire offseason to build a program from the ground up, pick his own coaching staff and do it his way?

That’s the case he made across his two interviews.

Are the Colts buying?

At this point, three weeks in, that question remains unanswered. And as this team — and its fans — have learned before, nothing’s official until the deal is done.

(Top photo of Raheem Morris: Kirby Lee / USA Today)