Why ‘All ball’ proved to be right tone for Colts’ Steichen during tumultuous season

INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts‘ daily practice walk-throughs are fixtures on players’ schedules. One always knows when they are about to commence, because they are impossible to miss.

The air horn that sounds before the start of walk-throughs and practices can be heard from the parking lot. And on days when walk-throughs are scheduled to start at 10:35 a.m., the horn will promptly blow at … 10:33?

In coach Shane Steichen’s world, if you’re not early, you’re late.

“It’s just the little things like that, that he doesn’t have to say anything anymore because guys know,” defensive tackle DeForest Buckner said. “We start earlier than we normally do.

“Everybody knows the deal, and what the standard is.”

The deal this weekend is that the season comes down to Saturday’s home game against the Houston Texans (8:15 p.m., ET, ESPN/ABC/ESPN+). If the Colts win, they’re in the playoffs.

Steichen enters the game tied with Houston’s DeMeco Ryans as the second betting favorites for Coach of the Year. Each is +1000 while the Cleveland Browns‘ Kevin Stefanski is the favorite at -900.

Part of Steichen’s success has been his unwillingness to compromise on his beliefs. That’s true even when it comes to his assistant coaches.

“There is no, ‘Oh boy, we struggled right there,'” defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. “No, it’s demanded we find a way and we get these things corrected right now.”

Ask around the Colts’ training facility for clues about Steichen’s personality and a recurring answer will be repeated. He’s “all ball,” staffers and players are fond of saying. Buckner, in fact, said those exact words this week. Steichen expects the same of his players and coaches when it’s time to work. He won’t permit anything to interrupt preparation, including tardiness or anything less than a laser focus.

Hence, the early air horn.

“He won’t sugarcoat anything,” Buckner said. “He’ll tell you what he needs from you. And that’s what I respect.”

But this is no one-way street. While Steichen has been demanding of his players, he has also provided them with something valuable in return: Confidence.

A four-win 2022 season did little to engender belief in the Colts’ locker room. That’s what happens when a team suffers losses like the Colts’ defeat at Minnesota in December 2022, with the Vikings recording the biggest comeback win in NFL history after trailing 33-0.

Steichen took the helm in February, sensing his team needed a change in mindset. His uncompromising, but empowering, approach has provided just that.

“There’s a reason that we’re all here,” center Ryan Kelly said. “I think that [Steichen] conveys that message. It makes them confident to go out there and play. At the same time, he’s [about] winning first. Guys only have a certain amount of time in their career, so [he asks], ‘How can I maximize that for these players?’

“I think that is reciprocated with how hard we play for each other and for him.”

To further explain, Kelly tapped into lessons learned while earning his graduate business degree.

“It’s like any company, any employee,” he said. “We’re the players, and if you believe in your players and you empower them and hold the standard of what it should be, so they know what that is, guys are going to play hard for you.”

Quarterback Gardner Minshew added: “It’s hard to go out there when you know they might not be [supporting] you, might not have your back if something goes wrong. But they’re not second-guessers, they’re trusters. When somebody gives you that, you want to go out and perform for them because you’re just so grateful for the opportunity.”

Then, there is Steichen’s competitive confidence that has proven infectious. And since players tend to take on the personality of their coaches, it’s not surprising the Colts have been unfazed in the face of numerous challenges this season. Case in point: They lost starting quarterback Anthony Richardson to a season-ending shoulder injury, then lost three straight games. Indianapolis has followed that with six wins in eight games.

Before each of them, Steichen, per usual, was wired.

“This past game, he was fired up,” Minshew said of Sunday’s win over the Raiders. “I think everybody fed off that, and I think it showed out there on the field.”

Then, after the game, Steichen couldn’t wait for the next one.

“No matter if it’s a win or a loss, he’s laser focused on the next opponent,” running back Jonathan Taylor said. “He’s like, ‘I’m smelling blood in the water for the next opponent.'”

But winning in the NFL requires more than throwing around a few effective motivational tactics. Steichen has the goods when it comes to the X’s and O’s of the game. One Colts staffer described him after his hiring this year as a “mad scientist” capable of cooking up inventive schemes that can position his players to win.

There are few better examples of this than when Richardson was lost for the season in Week 5. A dual-threat passer for whom quarterback runs are an integral part of his game, Richardson is markedly different than Minshew, his backup.

When you consider that the Colts spent much of their offseason developing schemes geared toward Richardson’s game, only to find themselves starting Minshew for 12 of their 16 games played so far, it demonstrates Steichen’s level of savvy.

Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter acknowledged those differences earlier this week, saying the loss of Richardson forced the Colts to tweak things in their game plans. But, he said, they countered that by adding more volume for Minshew who, as a sixth-year veteran, can handle a bigger menu of plays on a week-to-week basis because of his experience. That’s helped make up for the lack of the dual-threat element in Minshew’s repertoire.

Steichen’s offensive acumen also shows in how the Colts have won in different fashions. Take, for instance, the disparity between the Colts’ September win over the Ravens with 44 pass attempts and Sunday’s win over Las Vegas with just 23.

Even after losing Richardson and playing without Taylor for long stretches and with both offensive tackles missing multiple games, the Colts have ranked in the top 10 in scoring for most of the season. And they’ve done it while deploying many of the same holdovers from a team that finished 30th in scoring last season.

Steichen’s high standards, confidence and intelligence have produced results. Those results, in turn, have brought about more buy-in from the locker room.

“Shane has done an incredible job of … reminding us, leave no doubt in your mind, we’re going to win this game,” Taylor said. “It has to start with that. It doesn’t start with let’s prepare and let’s hope we win.

“No. We’re going to win.”