Reports earlier on Sunday noted that Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich was the favorite to land the Indianapolis Colts’ head coaching job. That’s now been all but confirmed.
Frank Reich will be the Colts’ new coach. Five-year deal with the team has been agreed to and about to be finalized, source says. @espn reported earlier he was the fave.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 11, 2018
Reich comes to the Colts after New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels had a late change of heart last week (more on that here).
A widely respected offensive mind, it goes without saying that Reich’s hire is meant to appease injured franchise quarterback Andrew Luck.
Reich, 56, has spent the past decade as an assistant coach in the NFL. His post-playing career started as a staff assistant for these very same Colts back in 2008. Since then, he served as a position coach in Indy. Reich also served as the then San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator from 2014-15 before joining Doug Pederson’s staff in the same role with Philadelphia back in 2016.
A career backup quarterback in the NFL, Reich played for the Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets and Detroit Lions during a largely unassuming 14-year career. He’s best known for leading Buffalo back from a 35-3 deficit against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 AFC Wildcard Playoffs after taking over for an injured Jim Kelly late that regular season.
It goes without saying that Reich will have his hands full in Indianapolis. But this promotion has been a long time coming for the veteran coach.