Frank Reich Still the Problem?

[rm1369]

Originally Posted by Hoopsdoc

They had Joel Erickson on Kevin and Query, a guy who has covered other teams and who still has contacts around the league, and they asked him what he’s heard about how the Colts franchise is viewed after this season.

He said he’s heard basically two different things.

One, that the vitriol Colts fans had for Frank Reich is not shared around the league. Basically, Reich is viewed as a decent coach who did as well as can be expected with a perpetually bad quarterback situation.

Two, that the franchise as a whole is not viewed as nearly as stable from ownership as it was previously. He said he’s gotten a lot of texts that end with basically, what the hell happened there?

I believe both of those. I’ve always felt Irsay’s firing of Reich had more to do with the fan base than anything else. You look at the QB situation in Indy and it’s hard as hell to have expected Reich to have won much more than he has. Especially when you throw in the issues at the other “winning” positions - LT, DE, WR, CB. He’s a good, not great coach, but far from the issue with this franchise. The sad thing is that this off season is the one where Reich would have the best chance to shine - mentoring a young QB.

I understand the argument that if Reich was only good and not great then there is room to improve. The issue is that the way Irsay went about things - both meddling with playing decisions and the joke of hiring Saturday - likely turns off the higher level candidates. The team simply isn’t a desirable destination due to Ballard and, especially, Irsay. I’d likely rather have Reich over whoever accepts the job for next year.