Indianapolis Colts

Could Kyle Shanahan Be the Next Head Coaching Candidate for Colts?

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:41 p.m. ET

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Having reportedly fallen short in their attempts to lure Jon Gruden, could the Indianapolis Colts turn their attention to current Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan?

Highly regarded as one of the best young offensive minds in all of football, the 37 year old Shanahan and son of former Denver Broncos head coaching great Mike Shanahan (shameless plug) could be an intriguing possibility–especially if paired with Colts superstar quarterback Andrew Luck:

Under Shanahan’s tutelage, Falcons starting quarterback Matt Ryan has developed into arguably this year’s league MVP–throwing for a career high 38 passing touchdowns to just 7 interceptions, another career high passing completion rate of 69.9, 4,944 total passing yards, and a sparkling passer rating of 117.1.

Jan 14, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws against the Seattle Seahawks during the second quarter in the NFC Divisional playoff at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

As such, Ryan became an AP 1st-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.

Not to mention, Shanahan’s offense ranked 1st in average points per game (33.8 avg. ppg.), 2nd in average total yards per game (415.8 total avg. ypg.), 3rd in average total passing yards per game (295.3 total avg. passing yards per game), and 5th in average total rushing yards per game (120.5 total avg. rushing yards per game) as one of the league’s most prolific offenses.

Look no further than on Saturday, when Shanahan’s Falcons carved up one of the best defenses, ‘The Legion of Boom’, in all of football for 34 points en route to a convincing 36-20 Divisional Round playoff victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

In the process, Ryan threw for 3 touchdown to 0 interceptions, had a completion rate of 70.3, amassed 338 passing yards, and posted a pristine passer rating of 125.7–having simply a historic passing performance against an incredibly stingy defense (*although All-Pro safety Earl Thomas‘ loss obviously hurt Seattle):

Shanahan has been an NFL offensive coordinator for the past 9 seasons, serving previously as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2014), Washington Redskins (2010-13), and Houston Texans (2008-09)–having achieved success with other quarterbacks such as Matt Schaub (Pro Bowl 2009) and yes, even Robert Griffin III (Pro Bowl, Offensive Rookie of the Year 2012).

Dec 24, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano reacts during a NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Colts 33-25. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As it stands, the Colts are clearly looking at an awkward situation with current head coach Chuck Pagano, who now knows he’s team owner Jim Irsay‘s ‘plan B’–having had just fallen short of their attempts to reportedly recruit Gruden.

Not only is it uncomfortable, but it may not also be the best path for the franchise going forward.

If it’s now publicly known that Pagano no longer has the full support and confidence of his owner, how can it be expected that he has just as much with his players in the locker room and by virtue of commanding them on the sidelines?

It’s not shaping up to be an ideal situation for the team in 2017, especially given how much Pagano’s ‘lame duck’ status and the front office dysfunction trickled down from the top to the rest of the team–even the players on the field in what was a disappointing 2015 regular season.

That being said, having tried their hand on a defensive-minded head coach for the past 5 seasons, perhaps the Colts could opt to go the other way this time around.

Pagano’s defenses have ranked 22nd at 24.5 avg. ppg (2016), 25th at 25.5 avg. ppg (2015), 19th at 23.1 avg. ppg (2014), 9th at 21.0 ppg (2013), and 21st at 24.2 ppg (2012) among all of the league’s teams–consistently ranking at least in the bottom half of the league.

Dec 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) and quarterback Andrew Luck (12) celebrate a second half touchdown against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Instead of the status quo, the Colts could opt to play to their strengths, which right now is clearly Luck, as well as the league’s receiving title king T.Y. Hilton–having gotten next to nothing from their defense for consecutive seasons.

Star Colts players who should have no problem fitting into Shanahan’s already successful ‘system’, as here’s some insight into his offensive philosophy:

“People talk about players fitting a system—that’s overrated,” Shanahan told The MMQB’s Albert Breer earlier this season. “Good players fit everyone’s system, a good player will fit your system. Julio fits any system. Our tight ends, Mohamed Sanu, Matt Ryan, they should fit your system. So what is our system? Yeah, we have outside zone, and play-action and keepers off it.”

“But coaches need to adjust their system. It changes game-to-game, year-to-year. You see New England, if it’s [Tom] Brady, they’re not running [the quarterback] keeper, but you have the other two running bootlegs. You have to match what your guys do, and make it work for them. That’s how you give everyone the best chance.”

It doesn’t mean that the Colts should try to win every game in shootouts for the foreseeable future, as the team definitely has to improve their defense (no matter who’s calling the shots) to get the unit to perform at least around league average.

Nov 29, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is shown on the sideline in the third quarter of their game against the Minnesota Vikings at the Georgia Dome. The Vikings won 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

However, it just means that under Shanahan, he could theoretically get Luck to play at a truly elite MVP caliber level like Ryan (not that #12 was necessarily shabby this past season), but by virtue of eliminating some of the turnovers and through emphasizing getting rid of the football faster in the pocket.

Rest assured though, under Shanahan, the Colts would still have to improve their defense likely by bringing in a bonafide defensive coordinator, who could purely handle that particular side of the football.

It’s worth noting that one sticking point to potentially bringing Shanahan to the Colts could be his desire to have control of the roster, which was already apparently rejected as it relates to the recent failed Gruden negotiations.

Nevertheless, the Colts could still make a change at their head coaching position and like a few other NFL teams (namely the San Francisco 49ers) may be waiting on Shanahan’s season to eventually wrap up to put on the full-court recruiting press.

However, the Colts and other potential suitors could have to wait at least a little longer, as Shanahan’s Falcons will be playing in next weekend’s NFC Championship Game–giving Indianapolis some additional time to contemplate any coaching decision.