Shane Steichen and the Indianapolis Colts are hoping to finish what they started last season.
An end-of-year collapse kept them out of the 2025 postseason despite starting 8-2, but the 2026 is a fresh start and a chance to redeem themselves.
Steichen is going to need redemption to arrive in a hurry, because he probably doesn’t have a ton of time left to make it happen in Indy.
It didn’t start well for the Colts, either, as they were run out of the building by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.
The first chance to right the ship comes on Sunday Night Football in Week 2 against the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes — they already with a resounding Week 1 win over the Denver Broncos.
If that clash looks similar to Week 1 for the Colts, Steichen is going to have to face some tough questions.
Shane Steichen Firing Rumors
Steichen has already been floated in multiple rumor mills this offseason as a potential candidate to be fired sooner rather than later.
Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon is the latest to suggest the idea. Gagnon put together analysis in which he grouped every head coach in the NFL based on how hot their current seat is.
His most dramatic category, titled “Burning Hot,” included just three coaches. Steichen was one of them.
He’s joined in that section by Tampa Bay’s Todd Bowles and Carolina’s Dave Canales.
This is how Gagnon summed up Steichen’s placement:
“Steichen can’t afford four consecutive .500-ish or worse campaigns. He and Daniel Jones are off to a discouraging start, too.”
The late Jim Irsay no longer makes these decisions, and it’ll be up to his daughters who now run the team to decide where the Colts go from here.
For Steichen to have a chance of sticking around, they’ll have to start winning more games in a hurry.
Shane Steichen Coaching Career
Steichen is in his fourth year as Colts head coach and has never made the playoffs.
They went 9-8 in his first season, then 8-9 in both 2023 and 2024 before starting 0-1 this season. That’s a combined 25-27 record in his first 52 games in charge of the Colts.
Steichen earned this position thanks to two years spent as the Chargers‘ offensive coordinator followed by two years spent as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator.
The high-level coaching career for Steichen began when he was just 25 years old and joined Louisville’s staff as an offensive assistant.
He then spent his first two NFL seasons as a defensive assistant with the Chargers.
From there, he went to Cleveland for a year as the Browns offensive quality control coach, then held the same position with the Chargers for two years.
He went on to coach the QBs with the Chargers before being promoted to the OC role.
Steichen now has to help the Colts’ offense get humming while also organizing an entire team to right the ship before its too late.
Colts’ Shane Steichen Job in Danger