Best and worst moments of Frank Reich's tenure as Colts coach

Frank Reich’s time as Colts coach came to an end Monday, as he was fired following a 3-5-1 start to the season. He came to Indianapolis in 2018. Here are the highs and lows of his four-plus seasons:

Best moments:

Making the playoffs in his first season with Colts

Reich came to Indianapolis on the heels of a disastrous final season under Chuck Pagano, and Josh McDaniels accepting, then rejecting the job. Fans hoped Reich would lead the franchise back to the playoffs. The “experts” were far less optimistic — before the season, USA Today predicted a 2-14 finish. Bleacher Report predicted a 5-11 finish. And for weeks, the pundits looked right. The early returns of the Reich era were bad.

The Colts started 1-5 — losses to the Bengals, Eagles, Texans, Patriots and Jets, with the lone win coming in Week 2 against Washington.

“They are not cute little underdogs anymore. They are not feisty, not daring, not building for a better tomorrow. The Indianapolis Colts are a team that drops passes and fumbles the football and throws stupid interceptions. They are a team that outcoaches itself with unnecessary cuteness. They are what their record says they are, and after this dreadful 42-34 loss on Sunday to the New York Jets, their record says they are the worst team in the NFL,” IndyStar sports columnist Gregg Doyel wrote after the loss to the Jets.

But the Colts won their next five games, and nine of their next 10 to finish the regular season. Their final act — a 33-17 primetime win in Tennessee in Week 17 — clinched their spot. They finished the season 10-6.

Just 12 months after shoulder surgery and a whole lot of uncertainty, Andrew Luck put together the best statistical season of his career (highs in completions, attempts, completion percentage and quarterback rating). And Shaquille (then Darius) Leonard burst onto the NFL scene, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

After a win in the Wild Card round over Houston, the season came to an end against Kansas City. But the city and its fans were buzzing about the potential this group had in the years to come.

Little did they know that in seven months, Andrew Luck would retire.

Playoff win against Houston

Reich’s lone playoff win with the Colts came in 2018, following a comeback from the 1-5 start. They faced the Houston Texans, who they split two regular-season games with — a 37-74 overtime loss on the road and a 24-21 win at home.

The Indianapolis offense put up 422 yards in a 21-7 win. Andrew Luck threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Marlon Mack rushed for 148 yards and a touchdown. The Colts led by three scores until a late touchdown by Houston.

Working his magic on Philip Rivers 

When the Colts signed Philip Rivers in March 2020, they were desperate for a change of fortune. After Luck’s abrupt retirement, Jacoby Brissett took the reins in 2019. After a promising 5-2 start to the season, the wheels fell off. The Colts won just two games the rest of the way.

Rivers had spent three years working with Frank Reich in San Diego, and six years working with then-offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni. But there were questions about whether Rivers’ time had run out. He was coming off a 5-11 season with Los Angeles where he’d thrown 20 interceptions.

The gamble paid off. Rivers led the Colts to an 11-5 campaign and a playoff berth. They started the season 4-2. Rivers orchestrated a huge comeback against the Bengals in Week 6, leading the Colts to a 27-23 win after facing a 21-0 deficit.

He threw 24 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions. In the final eight games of the season, Rivers threw 14 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. The Colts were a top-10 team in total offense and points per game.

Reich said he felt like Rivers had “multiple years of good football left in him. The way he’s playing right now … we said when we got him here, I said Philip is more than capable (of playing multiple seasons).”

But instead of returning for another season, Rivers decided to retire.

“This season, year 17, he was the same guy. Same fire. Never waned. To coach him in his final season was a gift I’ll always be grateful for,” Reich wrote in an essay for Peter King’s Football Morning in America. “That day in Buffalo, the wild-card loss this month, did I know Philip was going to retire? No. But he was definitely lingering in the locker room, savoring every last conversation, like he didn’t want it to end.”

Beating the Patriots last season

The Colts had rebounded from a 1-4 start to the 2021 season and were 7-6 heading into a game at New England. Indianapolis hadn’t beaten the Patriots since 2009.

Behind a big game from Jonathan Taylor, the Colts won 27-17 and saw their playoff odds increase to 88%. Taylor rushed for 170 yards and a game-sealing 67-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Colts led 20-0 heading into the fourth, but the Patriots scored 17 straight points. Then Taylor put the game away in front of a roaring crowd at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“For the first time in what feels like forever, the Colts just beat the New England Patriots. Call it church time, call it a miracle, call it proof of God’s existence. But the Patriots came to town and left a loser,” IndyStar’s Gregg Doyel wrote.

Worst moments:

Season-opener not-winning streak

The Colts came into this season having lost eight straight season openers, including four in the Reich era. Perhaps the worst of the bunch came in 2020. Indianapolis was a 7-point favorite in Jacksonville, but lost 27-20. It would be the Jaguars’ only win that season.

They seemed destined to continue that streak this season, falling behind 20-3 in Houston. But a late comeback led to an overtime tie.

Last season’s collapse

After three-game winning streak that included a pair of thrillers — a win over the Patriots and a win over the Cardinals on Christmas Day — the Colts were all but assured a playoff spot heading into the final two games of the 2021 season. All they had to do was beat the Raiders (at home) or the Jaguars (on the road).

Instead, they flopped.

The loss to Las Vegas came on a last-second field goal and against the backdrop of the drama from Carson Wentz testing positive for COVID. Wentz was available, but completed just 16 of his 27 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown.

The loss to the Jaguars was one of the worst of Reich’s tenure. Jacksonville came into the game 2-14. The Colts were 16-point favorites, but lost 26-11. The Colts trailed 23-3 at one point and managed just one touchdown — a pass from Wentz to Michael Pittman Jr. in garbage time.

Wentz threw for just 185 yards and turned the ball over twice. Taylor, who had played like an MVP for much of the season, managed just 77 yards.

"You're tired of looking for help," Leonard said after the game. "Always looking for help when we can't help ourselves. We go into a game, this team is 2-14, not taking anything away from them, but how do we expect to win or want to get in if we can't even beat the team we were supposed to beat?"

Jacksonville is Colts house of horrors

The Jaguars have beaten the Colts in eight straight games at home, including five during Reich’s tenure.

2018 was a shutout loss. 2019 was the loss that mercifully ended a season. 2020 featured a loss in which T.Y. Hilton dropped two consecutive passes on the Colts’ final drive. It was Jacksonville’s only win of the season. 2021 featured the aforementioned Week 18 debacle that ended the team’s season. This season, the Colts were shut out in Week 2. It was a failure from start to finish, and was an early indicator that this team was going nowhere.

After the game, Doyel wrote that “Colts owner Jim Irsay could fire everybody today, and it would feel justified. Reich, the head coach, isn’t getting it done. General manager Chris Ballard hasn’t gotten it done. Quarterback Matt Ryan will never get it done.”

Loss to Patriots 

Sunday’s loss in New England was the nail in the coffin for Reich’s tenure. The week before, Irsay had given him a vote of confidence, but the Colts responded by looking listless in a 26-3 loss. Sam Ehlingher, who had replaced Matt Ryan the previous week as the team’s starting quarterback, was sacked nine times and threw for just 103 yards.

The loss dropped the team to 3-5-1.

After the game, Reich blamed himself for the team’s offensive woes.

“The offensive performance, that’s why I was brought here, that’s my responsibility,” Reich said. “We’ve got players that are plenty good enough. I have to do a better job. It starts with me on offense. I’ve got to do a better job getting guys ready to play, putting guys in good position to win, and having answers when we face problems.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Frank Reich fired: Best, worst moments for Frank Reich as Colts coach