List of Indianapolis Colts head coaches explained

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are a member of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). In 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise. Rosenbloom was granted an NFL team, and was awarded the holdings of the defunct Dallas Texans organization. The team was known as the Baltimore Colts for 31 seasons before moving to Indianapolis in March 1984.[1]

There have been 19 head coaches for the Colts franchise. Keith Molesworth became the first coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1953, but he was reassigned to a different position with the team following the season.[2] In terms of tenure, Weeb Ewbank has led the team for more games (112) and more complete seasons (nine) than any other head coach. He led the team to two of their NFL championships. Four Colts head coaches; Ewbank, Don Shula (3), Ted Marchibroda, and Tony Dungy have been named coach of the year by at least one major news organization. Ewbank, Shula, and Dungy are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1978, 1997, and 2016 respectively.[3] [4]

Six times in Colts history there were interim head coaches. In 1972, Don McCafferty was fired five games into the season. John Sandusky was named as the interim head coach for the rest of the season, during which he led the Colts to a 4–5 record, but he was not made the permanent coach the next year. In 1974, head coach Howard Schnellenberger started off the season 0–3 and was fired. Joe Thomas assumed the duties of head coach and finished the season at 2–12. In 1991, the Colts started off 0–5 and Ron Meyer was fired as head coach. Rick Venturi was named as the interim for the final 11 games.[5] In 2005 Tony Dungy was forced to miss one game due to personal issues. Jim Caldwell was named as the one game interim.[6] In 2012 offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was named as the interim head coach indefinitely after Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia four weeks into the 2012 NFL season.[7] Arians led the Colts to a 9–3 record – the record being credited to Pagano – and made the playoffs.Following a 3–5–1 start, Frank Reich was fired and on November 7, 2022, the Indianapolis Colts named Jeff Saturday as the team's interim coach for the rest of the season, during which he led the Colts to a 1–7 record. He was not made the permanent coach the next year.

Key

Number of coaches
GCGames coached
WWins
LLosses
TTies
Win%Winning percentage
Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
^Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
†Spent entire professional NFL head coaching career with the Colts

Coaches

Note: Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2023 NFL season.

ImageNameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsReference
GCWLTWin%GCWL
Baltimore Colts
1Keith Molesworth†195312390.333– – – [8]
2Weeb Ewbank1954–196211259521.527220AP NFL Coach of the Year (1958)[9]
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1958)		[10]
3Don Shula1963–19699871234.725523AP NFL Coach of the Year (1964, 1967, 1968)
Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1964, 1968)
Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1968)		[11]
4Don McCafferty1970–19723322101.667541[12]
5John Sandusky†19729450.444– – – [13]
6Howard Schnellenberger†1973–1974174130.235– – – [14]
7Joe Thomas†197411290.182– – – [15]
8Ted Marchibroda1975–19797441330.554303AP NFL Coach of the Year (1975)
Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1975)
Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1975)
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1975)		[16]
9Mike McCormack^1980–1981329230.281– – – [17]
10Frank Kush†1982–1983257171– – – [18]
Indianapolis Colts
–Frank Kush†1984154110– – –
11Hal Hunter†19841010.000– – – [19]
12Rod Dowhower†1985–1986295240.172– – – [20]
13Ron Meyer1986–19917136350.507202UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1987)[21]
14Rick Venturi1991111100.100– – – [22]
–Ted Marchibroda1992–19956430340.469321
15Lindy Infante1996–19973212200.375101[23]
16Jim Mora1998–20016432320.500202[24]
17Tony Dungy2002–200811285270.7591376Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (2005)
Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year (2005)		[25]
18Jim Caldwell2009–20114826220422[26]
19Chuck Pagano† 2012–20179653430633[27]
20Frank Reich2018–20227440331312[28]
21Jeff Saturday†20228170–––[29]
22Shane Steichen†2023–present17980–––[30]

References

General
Specific

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Indianapolis Colts . June 18, 2008 . Pro Football Hall of Fame . June 12, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080612154940/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/team.jsp?franchise_id=14 . live .
  2. Web site: Baltimore Colts: Historical Moments . June 18, 2008 . Baltimore Colts . February 10, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070210173055/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/balticolts/baltcolts.html . live .
  3. News: Coach Ewbank Laid To Rest . June 19, 2008 . CBS News . November 18, 1998 . May 24, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110524133811/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1998/11/18/archive/main22907.shtml . live .
  4. Web site: Don Shula: NFL Coaching Legend . June 19, 2008 . Nationwide . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080517043518/http://www.nationwidespeakers.com/speaker/89/don-shula/nfl-coaching-legend . May 17, 2008 .
  5. Web site: Indianapolis Colts: Historical Moments . June 19, 2008 . Indianapolis Colts . September 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230909062525/https://sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/indy/icolts.html . live .
  6. Web site: Dungy's son, 18, found dead in Tampa suburb . June 18, 2008 . ESPN . May 22, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080522084634/http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2268593 . live .
  7. Web site: Chuck Pagano battling leukemia . October 1, 2012 . ESPN . October 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121003005429/http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8447831/indianapolis-colts-coach-chuck-pagano-leukemia . live .
  8. Web site: Keith Molesworth . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517131142/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MOLESKEI01 . May 17, 2007 .
  9. Web site: NFL Coach of the Year Award . June 19, 2008 . HickokSports.com . dead . https://archive.today/20121205094433/http://www.hickoksports.com/history/nflcoy.shtml . December 5, 2012 .
  10. Web site: Weeb Ewbank . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517130045/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=EWBANWEE01 . May 17, 2007 .
  11. Web site: Don Shula . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070929153952/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=SHULADON01 . September 29, 2007 .
  12. Web site: Don McCafferty . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517130019/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MCCAFDON01 . May 17, 2007 .
  13. Web site: John Sandusky . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517125045/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=SANDUJOH01 . May 17, 2007 .
  14. Web site: Howard Schnellenberger . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517125145/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=SCHNEHOW01 . May 17, 2007 .
  15. Web site: Joe Thomas . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517124720/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=THOMAJOE01 . May 17, 2007 .
  16. Web site: Ted Marchibroda . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517125012/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MARCHTED01 . May 17, 2007 .
  17. Web site: Mike McCormack . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070517125258/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MCCORMIK01 . May 17, 2007 .
  18. Web site: Frank Kush Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks. January 9, 2011. Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. October 4, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111004075100/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/KushFr0.htm. live.
  19. Web site: Hal Hunter Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks. January 9, 2011. Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. August 13, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110813040315/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/HuntHa0.htm. live.
  20. Web site: Rod Dowhower . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111122092004/http://databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=DOWHOROD01 . November 22, 2011 .
  21. Web site: Ron Meyer . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070208112828/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MEYERRON01 . February 8, 2007 .
  22. Web site: Rick Venturi . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100214063740/http://databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=VENTURIC01 . February 14, 2010 .
  23. Web site: Lindy Infante . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070205152302/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=INFANLIN01 . February 5, 2007 .
  24. Web site: Jim Mora . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080118065532/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=MORAJIM01 . January 18, 2008 .
  25. Web site: Tony Dungy . June 18, 2008 . databaseSports.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090114013259/http://www.databasefootball.com/coaches/coachpage.htm?coachid=DUNGYTON01 . January 14, 2009 .
  26. Web site: Jim Caldwell Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks. January 9, 2011. Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. January 2, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180102074232/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/CaldJi0.htm. live.
  27. Web site: Chuck Pagano Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks. Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. February 6, 2018. November 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171119233625/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/PagaCh0.htm. live.
  28. Web site: Frank Reich Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks. Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. February 15, 2022. February 16, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230216045400/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/ReicFr0.htm. live.
  29. Web site: Jeff Saturday Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks . January 7, 2023 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en.
  30. Web site: Shane Steichen Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks . January 8, 2024 . Pro-Football-Reference.com . en . February 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213223233/https://www.pro-football-reference.com/coaches/SteiSh0.htm . live .

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