No. 2: A New Coaching Staff
The Colts’ struggles in the second half, mentioned previously, were more than just the absence of Andrew Luck. A big part of it was the inability of the previous coaching staff to make adjustments and counters. Indianapolis finally decided to move on from Chuck Pagano and his staff and got lucky in landing Frank Reich, the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator. Reich was not the original plan for the Colts, who agreed to a deal with Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to become the next head coach in Indianapolis. McDaniels backed out of the deal at the last minute, and the Colts were forced to look elsewhere.
The change was long overdue, as Pagano even admitted later on that Andrew Luck probably got him a few more years than he deserved.
The new staff made immediate changes. Notably, Indy’s defense switched from a 3-4 to a 4-3 base, implementing more speed. Also, the Colts are expected to use their tight ends more on offense as well as more creative and quicker plays. The creativity of the offense and quickness that Luck will be releasing the ball is a major change from the Colts previous style that involved many deep throws and holding the ball too long.
Indianapolis now has capable coaches that are willing to adjust and be creative, unlike the old staff. This will result in the Colts having a much better chance at winning on Sundays.
