'I just love coaching football': Monaca native Matt Raich gearing up for matchup with Steelers

Matt Raich’s assignment this week: Make life miserable for Kenny Pickett and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense.

That’s the plan for Raich and other members of the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coaching staff Monday night.

At 4-6-1, the Colts need to beat the 3-7 Steelers at Lucas Oil Stadium in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

“We’re not where we want to be in terms of wins and losses,” said Raich, a Monaca native who’s in his third season as the Colts’ assistant defensive line coach. “But there’s still a lot of football to be played.

“Our guys are playing hard and hustling. That’s one thing that, as a competitor, you want to go out and prove you’re good enough to win. That’s where we’re at right now.”

Where the Steelers are right now is unfamiliar territory. With a rookie quarterback in Pickett and an under-achieving team struggling for consistency offensively and defensively, they’re tied for the second-worst record in the AFC.

Meanwhile, the Colts are three weeks into the regime of Jeff Saturday, who was hired November 7 as interim head coach. He succeeded Frank Reich, who was fired following a 3-5-1 start.

That shocking decision sent shockwaves throughout the NFL. Saturday may have been one of the greatest centers in Colts history -- he helped them win Super Bowl XLI – but his only coaching experience was three seasons at the high school level.

At the time of his hiring, Saturday was providing NFL analysis for ESPN.

The Colts won their first game under Saturday, 25-20 on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders. But then they dropped a gut-wrenching 17-16 decision at home against the Philadelphia Eagles. Indy led the entire game before Philly scored a touchdown with just 1:20 left to play.

“I met Jeff a couple of times in the past couple of years,” Raich said. “He was doing some work for the organization and he would always come to training camp. When he spoke in front of the team a few times, he said some great things.

“One of the reasons why the Colts were so successful when Jeff was playing for them was that they had a core of men with great character. Guys like Peyton Manning and Jeff Saturday, who had a great career even though he wasn’t even drafted.

“In the short time he’s been here, you can tell that Jeff is a real smart guy who’s very competitive. So when he was hired, I was like ‘OK. Let’s go.’”

At this time, there’s no telling who will coach the Colts next season.

Might it be Saturday, who’s 47?

Or will owner Jim Irsay bring in someone else?

Either way, Raich hopes he’ll be retained in Indianapolis whoever the Colts hire.

“I love this organization,” Raich said. “It’s been great. My family loves it here. The organization reminds me of the Rooney family and how they operate the Steelers. It’s a very family-oriented franchise.”

Raich has been in the coaching business long enough to realize that he may not be back with the Colts. He’s a true journeyman who's in his 26th season of coaching, including 19 in the NFL.

He coached at four different colleges, including two different stints at Robert Morris and one at Duquesne.

He coached one year in the German Federal League and one year in the XFL, a professional American football minor league.

Obviously, he wants to remain in the NFL.

He landed his first NFL job as a player personnel intern for the Steelers in 2002-2003. He then coached the next three years as an offensive assistant and worked directly with Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers' offensive coordinator at the time.

In 2007 when Whisenhunt was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, he took Raich with him as a defensive assistant and then as linebackers coach.

When Whisenhunt was fired after the 2012 season, Raich coached linebackers at Duquesne.

For the most part, he’s been back in the NFL ever since, coaching as a defensive coach for four years with the Detroit Lions (2014-2017), one season with the Cincinnati Bengals (2018) and now three years with the Colts.

He did coach as co-defensive coordinator with the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks in 2020.

“I’m kind of a nomad, so I don’t mind that kind of nomadic lifestyle,” said Raich, who, along with his wife Amanda, are proud parents of daughter Seraphina, a first-grader.

“I get to meet new people and be in new situations. I’m open minded to that. Sometimes it is hard on a family when you have to pick up and move. But I don’t mind trying new adventures.”

Throughout his career in the NFL, Raich has coached against the Steelers six times, most recently on Dec. 27, 2020.

Trailing 24-14 in the fourth quarter, the Steelers rallied for a 28-24 win when QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 341 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter.

“It’s always special playing the Steelers,” Raich said. “It’s my roots.

“The Steelers were the only thing I knew for so many years. My dad bought season tickets in 1970 right when Three Rivers Stadium opened, the year I was born. We went to every home game.

“And of course, the one Super Bowl I was part of, it was with the Steelers.”

That was Feb. 6, 2006 when the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks, 21-10, at Ford Field in Detroit.

“That means who much to me,” Raich said. “I will always cherish that.”

Raich will also cherish the Monday Night Football game against the Steelers.

He still knows several people in various roles with the Steelers organization such as longtime assistant head coach John Mitchell and trainer John Norwig. Raich is also good friends with Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin.

Raich and Austin were on the same coaching staffs at Arizona, Detroit and Cincinnati.

“It will be nice to see some friendly faces,” Raich said.

Raich will probably see some friendly faces from his hometown of Monaca as well. In the past few days, he received a few phone calls from Monaca acquaintances who said they’re making the trip to Indianapolis.

Raich, a 1989 graduate of Monaca, played three sports at a school that would merge with Center to become the Central Valley school district in 2009.

He lettered in football, basketball and baseball, and earned all-conference or all-section honors in each sport. But football was Raich’s real passion. A running back/linebacker, he was his conference’s Most Valuable Player and was named first-team Small School All-State.

He went on to play linebacker at Westminster College where he finished his collegiate career as the leading tackler in school history. He was a three-time NAIA All-American and earned Kodak Small College All American honors as a senior.

Raich has already been inducted into Westminster’s Titan Sports Hall of Fame and the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.

When asked about his 26-year as a coach, including those 19 years in the NFL, Raich said “I just love coaching football.”

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: 'I just love coaching football': Monaca native Matt Raich gearing up for matchup with Steelers