Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Shane Steichen
Offensive Coordinator: Jim Bob Cooter
Defensive Coordinator: Lou Anarumo
Special Teams Coordinator: Brian Mason
2024 Summary (W-L Record: 8-9)
Since Andrew Luck retired, the Colts have been a middle-of-the-pack franchise that never seems to be in the discussion of potential Super Bowl contenders. Over the last 6 seasons, their W-L record is 48-51-1. Last year provided more “meh” results and an 8-9 record:
In 2024, the defense was predictable, seldomly utilizing disguise and playing one of the highest frequencies of zone coverage in the league. Their pass rush was simply not good enough to play that way, and the Colts ultimately finished in the bottom-10 in points and yards allowed.
Offensively, things were less predictable but not in a good way. 2nd-year quarterback Anthony Richardson was constantly in and out of the lineup.
He was sidelined for two-plus games due to an injury he suffered in Week 4. After returning to the lineup for two games, he was benched for the next two. Richardson seemed to get on track when the starting job was given back to him, but then he missed the final two games of the season due to injury.
While the run game did end up as one of the league’s best, instability at the most important position kept the Colts out of the playoffs for the 4th straight season.
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Key Additions
QB Daniel Jones
TE Tyler Warren (1st Rd, 14th Overall)
T Jalen Travis (4th Rd, 127th Overall)
DT Neville Gallimore
DT Eric Johnson
EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau (2nd Rd, 45th Overall)
CB Charvarius Ward
CB Justin Walley (3rd Rd, 80th Overall)
S Camryn Bynum
Key Losses
QB Joe Flacco
TE Kylen Granson
C Ryan Kelly
RG Will Fries
G Mark Glowinski
DT Raekwon Davis
DT Taven Bryan
EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo
LB E.J. Speed
S Julian Blackmon
Did They Address Their Holes?
From a personnel standpoint, the Colts only made incremental upgrades. The quarterback room was something they had to address, so they added Daniel Jones (more on that in a bit).
The addition of rookie Tyler Warren (drafted 14th overall) brings yet another big tight end to Indianapolis. He should be an effective run blocker who can contribute much more in the passing game than the Colts have gotten recently from the position. Shane Steichen’s offense forces opposing defenses into run-pass conflicts as much as any team in the league. For instance, they were 1st in RPO frequency and 4th in play-action frequency a year ago. That makes Warren the perfect piece for this type of offense. Steichen will have a fun time finding ways to deploy him.
Defensively, the biggest change the Colts made was hiring Lou Anarumo as the new defensive coordinator.
Anarumo will bring more variety in his scheme than the Colts had previously. Remember, this is the same Lou Anarumo who was instrumental in helping get the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021 and the AFC Championship Game in 2022. His scheme gave the likes of both Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen fits during those runs.
The last couple of seasons weren’t great for Anarumo’s Bengals defenses, but he should have more talent to work with in Indy than he did last year in Cincinnati.
Biggest Questions Entering 2025
The biggest question this team faces is obviously the quarterback position. Anthony Richardson has been both injury prone and ineffective for two seasons, while also flashing massive potential at times. At a certain point, though, a team can’t continue waiting around for their high-upside quarterback to become a reliable player.
And sure enough, in the first preseason game, Richardson sustained yet another injury (dislocated pinky on his throwing hand). I’m not sure what’s more concerning, though; the fact that he got hurt again or the fact that the shot he took that led to the injury was the result of not recognizing and responding correctly to the blitz given the protection (the free rusher who hit him was his responsibility).
Because of the Colts’ lack of faith in Richardson, they went out and signed Daniel Jones this offseason. While he isn’t necessarily a huge upgrade (or an upgrade at all), he serves multiple purposes.
The first is that he creates competition at the position, which the Colts surely hope will light a fire under Richardson’s butt. If it doesn’t and Jones wins the starting job outright, then at least they should conceivably get better quarterback play than Richardson would provide.
The second is that he allows Shane Steichen to run his offense the same way regardless of who is under center. With Richardson missing so much time over the last two years (17 games), the Colts have had to turn to back up quarterbacks like Gardner Minshew and Joe Flacco, who don’t have similar skillsets to Richardson.
Namely, neither of them are a factor in the run game.
With Jones, the quarterback run game will still be in play. While he’s not as dynamic of a runner as he once was, Jones still has to be accounted for by the defense. So no matter who is playing quarterback, Steichen can find ways to create a numbers advantage when running back Jonathan Taylor has the ball.
Give Steichen a full year of Richardson or Jones or a combination of the two, and he’ll have this running game humming (Don’t forget what he was able to do with the Eagles on their way to the Super Bowl in 2022).
Either way, I think the safest bet is that no matter who wins the starting job, we’re going to see both quarterbacks play. Their performance and injury histories tells us so.
2025 Outlook
Like all other teams in the AFC South, the Colts are absolutely in play to win the division.
They went 8-9 last year with a bad defense and an uneven quarterback situation. I feel confident that their defense will be much improved under Lou Anarumo and their run game will be every bit as good if not better than a year ago.
I also think the level of play they’ll get from the quarterback position as a whole will be more consistent than a year ago. But this is obviously the huge wild card. The QB position will determine whether the Colts can go something like 11-6 and win the division or if they’ll be looking for a new head coach next offseason.
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