Rookie head coach Shane Steichen is not messing around when it comes to holding players accountable. Shocking news from the Indianapolis Colts hit the public on Tuesday, with the release of Shaq Leonard. The three-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl player was informed just a few days before Thanksgiving.
Subsequently, hours before his annual handing out of turkeys for the holiday. Some may have been surprised the move was made during the season, as opposed to afterward. But not everyone was surprised by the release of the former defensive rookie of the year.
Maybe the move should not have been surprising, as Steichen has drastically changed the Colts. Last season, they were widely considered boring, predictable, and unimaginative. And that was even when they had their Week 1 starting quarterback on the field. This season, even without their franchise quarterback, they are entertaining and have a Top 10 offense in the NFL.
But beyond just the offense, and team, being better the new head coach is holding his players accountable.
Deon Jackson had an extremely poor showing in Week 1 and was cut after Week 2. Darrell Baker had two weeks of poor showings and lost his starting job. And now, Leonard’s play has been suboptimal to accompany his displeasure with his playing time.
Was lack of accountability costly to Indianapolis Colts last year?
The lack of player accountability was something that loomed as an issue last season, even with the in-season coaching change. It was missing in the final season of Frank Reich’s tenure as the head coach. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday tried to be more accountable and he might have been.
However, it was overshadowed by the fact he was in over his head as an NFL head coach. Accountability was a word used a lot last season, off-season, and at other times during the Reich era.
For example, Adam Vinatieri’s final season saw him have the worst season of his career. He made a career-low, 68% of his field goal attempts and 78.6% of his extra point attempts. Instead of moving on from the future Hall of Famer, the team stuck with him for 12 games.
Another example was Reich’s near-blind loyalty to Carson Wentz. Reich was the main driving force behind the team acquiring the embattled star quarterback from Philadelphia. The move was made with the idea that Wentz would be the team’s long-term answer at quarterback. But that failed to come to fruition and the team moved on to Matt Ryan the following season.
A reason as to why the Colts lacked accountability is due to the loss of Nick Siriani to become Philadelphia’s head coach. Reich is well known for being a players’ coach. Meanwhile, Siriani was beloved by his players, however, he also demanded accountability from them. This duo formed a sort of good cop bad cop tandem.
Then this past off-season Siriani had a similar experience to his mentor, when Steichen left being the offensive coordinator to be the head coach for the Colts. Steichen has been a combination of Reich and Siriani. There’s no question that Steichen is a progressive and forward-thinking offensive mind. Similar to how Reich was thought of when he became the head coach for Indianapolis.
However, Steichen is following through on the words he spoke at his introductory press conference. He’s been direct with the players letting them know exactly what is expected of them and where they stand. He demands that his players be relentless in their pursuit of a championship and this applies to his coaches too. Overall, his message is being well received and it’s translating to wins on the field. It has also led to some more notable names no longer being with the Colts, too.