Indianapolis Colts fire head coach Frank Reich

The Colts have parted ways with head coach Frank Reich, team owner Jim Irsay announced Monday. Indianapolis has lost its past three games and is 3-5-1 on the season, which is good for second in the AFC South but 10th in the AFC.

Reich, who won a Super Bowl in the 2017 season as Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, had a 40-33-1 record in four-plus seasons as the Colts’ head coach. He was hired in the offseason following the Eagles’ Super Bowl win after the Colts’ first choice, then-New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, turned down the job at the last minute after initially accepting it. 

Reich’s tenure was marked by constant turnover at the quarterback position. He led the Colts to a playoff berth with a resurgent Andrew Luck under center in 2018, only for Luck to shockingly retire just before the 2019 season. The Colts missed the playoffs that year with Jacoby Brissett as their starter, then returned to the postseason in 2020 after acquiring longtime Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers for one season before he retired. 

Expectations were initially high last year after the club traded for Carson Wentz. The beleaguered QB’s production improved from his final year in Philly, but the reunion with Reich also lasted just one season as Wentz was traded this past offseason after the Colts missed the playoffs. Indianapolis acquired former MVP Matt Ryan within a week of exiling Wentz, only to bench the struggling 37-year-old after seven weeks. Sam Ehlinger, a sixth-round pick in 2021, has also struggled upon taking over as QB1 the past two games. 

The Colts haven’t started the same QB in consecutive season openers since 2016. That streak will likely continue in 2023. Now, they’re in the market for a new head coach, as well.

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