What Colts coach Shane Steichen said about his future after loss to Texans

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Coach Shane Steichen believes the Colts are headed in the right direction.

Indianapolis dropped seven straight games to end the season, tumbling to 8-9 overall and becoming the first team in three decades to miss the playoffs after getting off to an 8-2 start.

But the third-year head coach believes the franchise is headed in the right direction.

“I do, because I believe that,” Steichen said. “That’s how I feel about it. Obviously, we showed signs early in the season that it was pretty darn good, and we’ve had some unfortunate circumstances, but that’s part of the league, you’ve got to overcome those circumstances.”

Injuries to the Colts’ most important players are the circumstances Steichen was referencing.

Indianapolis starting quarterback Daniel Jones was diagnosed with a fractured fibula in his left leg shortly after the bye week, then tore his right Achilles tendon two weeks later against Jacksonville.

The Colts could not turn to his primary backup, Anthony Richardson, because he had undergone season-ending surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone stemming from a freak accident suffered hours before the team’s October win over Arizona.

Defensively, Indianapolis lost its best pass rusher, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, for all but one game after he suffered a herniated disc in his neck against Pittsburgh, and injuries eliminated a pair of aggressive moves the Colts made to upgrade the cornerback position, a critical spot for defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.

Charvarius Ward, the team’s most expensive free-agent acquisition, played in only seven games due to ongoing concussions. Indianapolis traded two first-round picks and 2024 second-rounder Adonai Mitchell to the Jets at the deadline to land cornerback Sauce Gardner; Gardner suffered a strained calf after two starts and played only once the rest of the way.

With few options at quarterback, Indianapolis turned to a 44-year-old Philip Rivers at quarterback, and although Rivers kept the Colts in games, Indianapolis wasn’t able to finish.

The same was true on Sunday. Rookie Riley Leonard played better than anybody expected by throwing for 270 yards, rushing for 21 more and piling up three touchdowns, but the Colts blew a late lead to fall 38-30 in Houston.

An inability to finish off games after the injuries struck ended up defining this Indianapolis season.

“It was frustrating,” Steichen said. “The last half of this season, for sure, that’s what it’s been, not finding ways to finish. We’ve got to work tirelessly to get that fixed.”

The Colts weren't able to overcome the injuries, even though they were in several games down to the wire during their seven-game losing streak to end the season. Find a way to finish those games and Indianapolis might be in the playoffs.

“That’s where you have to learn from and grow from,” Steichen said. “When you get in those situations again, you learn from them, here’s how we have to win now with the circumstances that we had.”

A decision on Steichen’s future now rests with new Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and her sisters, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson.

Irsay-Gordon stopped short of declaring 2025 a “playoffs or bust” season, but she also acknowledged after taking over that the team hasn’t lived up to the organizational standard.

“Chris (Ballard) and Shane know that they have things they need to fix,” Irsay-Gordon said in June. “We talked about not micromanaging people but also, we have a standard here, and it hasn't been good enough. Winning is great, but I would even take it a step further in saying we're really committed to being the best.”

Indianapolis now has only two playoff berths, one postseason win and no AFC South titles in Ballard’s nine seasons as general manager.

Steichen is 25-26 in three seasons, unable to get over the hump and into the playoffs.

A decision on the future of both men rests with Irsay-Gordon, who will decide if she agrees with Steichen that the promise of the team’s 8-2 start was worth exploring further.

“That’s not for me to decide,” Steichen said. “But what I will say is I love this team, I love this organization, love the city, love the fans.”

Joel A. Erickson and Nathan Brown cover the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Shane Steichen on future with Colts after loss to Texans

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