The Indianapolis Colts have been living in a nightmare over the past few weeks.
The tough stretch began with the firing of longtime GM Chris Ballard, continued with trading away both Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, and was capped off with a horrific 42-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 8.
Things got so bad Sunday that Anthony Richardson made an appearance in relief of Daniel Jones.
This all comes at a time when the Colts remain without a first-round pick in 2027, thanks to last year’s Sauce Gardner trade.
More change appears to be coming and one NFL analyst believes Colts fans should keep their notifications on throughout the rest of Sunday and into Monday morning.
Analyst Shares Tough Prediction for Shane Steichen
Firing a GM so early in the season is not a great sign for a team, nor for its head coach. Colts HC Shane Steichen does avoid some blame as he does not pick the players on the roster. However, there is no excuse for a 42-7 loss.
Former NFL player and current analyst Mark Schlereth shared a post on X with his prediction.
“Have a feeling the Colts are cleaning house right after the game,” he wrote. “1st head coach firing of the season?”
Such a move would not come as a surprise to any Colts fan. Ownership just needs to decide if there is a benefit to firing him now, or if it’s best to keep some sense of stability for a team trading away veteran talent.
Colts Set for Several Major Upcoming Decisions
Dropping to 2-6 puts the Colts near the bottom of the AFC standings with only one more game before the NFL trade deadline. Even beating the Dallas Cowboys and improving to 3-6 next week should not change much in terms of the team’s plans.
The first major decision is what to do with Steichen. All signs point to him being let go, unless owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is hearing things on the headset that work in his favor. Yet a fourth consecutive year without a playoff appearance makes him tough to retain.
The next major decision revolves around star running back Jonathan Taylor. He is under contract through 2028, but could bring back a nice haul of draft picks in a trade. He only carried the ball eight times for 23 yards in Sunday’s loss, raising eyebrows about the lack of a workload.
All fans can really do at this point is wait and see. The Colts are not getting it done on the field, and thus the logical move would be to seek a reset amid an ongoing playoff drought that began with the 2021 season. Whether it’s a full or partial reset is what remains to be seen. What happens with Taylor will answer that debate.
Analyst Predicts Colts Will be ‘Cleaning House’ After Loss vs. Jaguars