Colts to Part Ways with Veteran Coach Before Contract Expires. Stanford University announced Monday that former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich will serve as the football program’s interim head coach for the 2025 season.
This decision is particularly noteworthy because retired Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, who recently became Stanford’s general manager in 2024, now oversees the program.
During their only season together in Indianapolis, Luck completed 430 of 639 passes (67.3%) for 4,593 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions across 16 starts in 2018. That season, he earned NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors and a Pro Bowl selection.
Under Reich’s leadership, the Colts finished 10-6 and secured an AFC wild card spot. Clearly, Luck held Reich in high regard then and still does, as he brings him in to help stabilize a Stanford program that has endured four consecutive 3-9 seasons. The team hopes Reich can provide a steady presence before they secure a long-term head coach.
Reich’s most recent coaching stint was with the Carolina Panthers in 2023, where he went 1-10 before being fired midseason. He previously coached the Colts from 2018-2022 and held various other NFL coaching roles, though he has no prior collegiate coaching experience.
Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen confirmed that there will be a quarterback competition between returning starter Anthony Richardson and newly signed Daniel Jones.
Steichen announced Monday that both quarterbacks will split first-team reps starting in the offseason.
“The most consistent and productive player will be the starter,” Steichen said at the NFL annual meeting in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The Colts signed Jones to a one-year, $14 million deal as a direct challenger to Richardson. Jones, who spent six seasons with the New York Giants before finishing last year with the Minnesota Vikings, was benched by the Giants in November and later waived at his request before joining Minnesota’s practice squad.
Now in Indianapolis, the former sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft will compete with Richardson, the fourth overall selection in 2023, who has endured an up-and-down tenure with the Colts.
Jones has recorded 14,582 passing yards, 70 touchdowns, and 47 interceptions over 70 career games (69 starts). He has also rushed for 2,179 yards and 15 touchdowns.
“(Jones) has the ability to run in the zone-read game and throw effectively,” Steichen said. “His career completion rate is 64 percent, which is solid. He has produced, won a playoff game, and has a high football IQ—really high football IQ—which is a great asset.”
Richardson started 11 games in 2024, throwing for 1,814 yards, eight touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while adding 499 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard declined to set a timeline for naming a starter but emphasized an even split in practice reps rather than alternating who runs with the first-team offense on a daily basis.
“I think the process will be smooth,” Ballard said. “With any competition, reps need to be distributed equally so that we can make the best decision on who will lead the team.”
