Getty The Indianapolis Colts have added a former All-Pro wide receiver to their coaching staff.
Reggie Wayne spent his entire 14-year NFL playing career with the Indianapolis Colts. Wayne will now start his coaching career with the same organization.
The Colts announced on March 14 that Wayne will join the Indianapolis coaching staff as wide receivers coach. Wayne replaces Mike Groh, who left this offseason to coach the wide receivers for the New York Giants.
“He’s a winner,” Reich told Colts.com. “He’s a really smart player, a really motivated guy, very structured in how he works and what he does. And very analytical and intellectual in how he approaches the receiver position. So we’ve been talking about this for four years. The timing has not been right but now the time is right. So really excited for what he’s going to bring to the room and to the team.”
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Frank Reich Wanted Reggie Wayne on Colts Coaching Staff Years Ago
Indianapolis adding Wayne to the coaching staff is not too unexpected. Colts head coach Frank Reich made it clear in a press conference at the NFL Combine that Wayne was close to joining the team’s staff. Reich said that adding Wayne as a coach has been a goal of his for some time.
“It would mean a lot. I’ve been talking to Reggie about possibly getting on staff for four years,” Reich said. “I mean, Reggie is a guy I have the utmost respect for, I’m just a big believer in him as a person and as a competitor, as a winner. If we can get that all locked up, I think it will be a big deal.”
This will be the first time Wayne officially joins an NFL coaching staff, but he served as a volunteer wide receivers coach for the Colts during the 2018 offseason.
The relationship between Reich and Wayne dates back to 2006 when Reich joined the Indianapolis coaching staff as an intern. Reich coached in Indianapolis for six years and served as Wayne’s wide receivers coach during the final season of his first tenure with the Colts in 2011.
Reggie Wayne Brings Hall of Fame Credentials to Colts Coaching Staff
The Colts have been blessed with great wide receivers over the past 25 years, and Wayne is a big part of that legacy. He is second in Colts history in the three major receiving categories with 1,070 catches, 14,345 receiving yards, and 82 receiving touchdowns.
Wayne trails only Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison in all three categories.
A first-round pick in 2001, Wayne made six Pro Bowls during his 14-year career. He led the NFL in receiving with 1,510 yards in 2007 and made the All-Pro team with 111 catches, 1,355 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2010.
From 2004-10, Wayne posted seven straight seasons with 1,000 receiving yards. He ended that streak when quarterback Peyton Manning missed the 2011 season but still recorded 960 receiving yards that year and then posted 1,355 receiving yards during Andrew Luck’s rookie campaign in 2012.
The Colts inducted Wayne into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2018. He remains 10th all-time in both receiving yards and receptions.
Wayne, who holds the Colts record of 211 games played, has been a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame the last three years.
It’s hard to imagine a better candidate with no previous coaching experience to join the Colts staff this season.