FYI: Linked within the article is another Athletic piece by Colts reporter Zak Keefer written about last year's dysfunction in Indianapolis.
I've copied some excerpts related to Reich, but the full article is well worth the read. As unbelievable as it might sound, Irsay might actually be even worse than we thought.
Colts season of chaos: Jim Irsay impatience, impulsiveness leave franchise in disarray
After Philip Rivers’ successful one-year stint in 2020, the owner wanted to find the team’s next quarterback in the draft, and in Irsay’s words, “grow our own.” But head coach Frank Reich wanted Wentz, convinced he could salvage the former No. 2 pick’s career. So the Colts made the move, thinking Wentz would be in Indianapolis for multiple seasons.
Hours after the Colts’ Week 18 loss in Jacksonville, Reich sat in Irsay’s office and apologized to his boss.
“I thought I could fix him,” the coach said of Wentz. “But I was wrong.”
That’s when Irsay started to lose faith in his head coach, most in the building believe. Reich never regained it.
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Still, Irsay, Reich and general manager Chris Ballard were energized by what unfolded in the coming months: the two third-round picks the Colts received from Washington in the Wentz deal, plus the fact that they landed Matt Ryan, a former MVP, to replace him. “He’s parted the seas, holy cow,” Irsay gushed of Ballard back in the spring.
The owner spoke of the 36-year-old Ryan playing three or four more years, but the Colts added nothing else on that side of the ball in free agency. The season was a disaster from the start, a continuation, in Irsay’s mind, of all that went wrong last winter.
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Behind the scenes, Irsay was pushing for Ryan’s benching as early as Week 5. What bothered him most was his team’s awful showings in division games — the tie in Houston, another blowout loss in Jacksonville, two more to Tennessee. His belief in Reich was fading, so Irsay did what he’d long vowed he wouldn’t.
He started meddling.
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After a Week 6 road loss to the Titans — the team Irsay hates to lose to more than any other — the owner stepped in, pushing Reich to change quarterbacks late that night. A day later, the coach reluctantly announced the decision to bench Ryan for Sam Ehlinger. Ryan’s shoulder separation was real, but not serious, and the Colts went out of their way to stress the move wasn’t injury-related. Reich couldn’t flat-out reveal that Irsay made the call — given the choice, the coach would’ve gone with Nick Foles before Ehlinger — but as he tiptoed around that reality, Reich offered a lens into what their discussions had been like the night before.
“He’s a one-man crew,” the coach said of Irsay’s influence.
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The Colts lost two straight with Ehlinger, and Irsay felt the team was slipping, not only in performance but accountability.
In one sense, Reich had overachieved: four different starting quarterbacks in his first four seasons, and three times his offense finished top 10 in the league. He was respected within the locker room, but some players wondered if Reich was tough enough on his best players, a few of whom had regressed. He never called them out in front of the rest of the team — some felt that was needed, especially as a disappointing season continued.
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When former players visited, some felt Reich’s offense was too complex; one was shocked to learn Reich’s scheme included 28 different running plays and 34 different protections. “That’s way too many,” he said.
But, as one current player offered: “It’s our job to know the plays and go out there and execute, not to worry about if that’s too many or not.”
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The next morning, after Irsay fired Reich over the phone, players and coaches gathered inside the team auditorium and watched Ballard walk to the front of the room. “There’s gonna be some changes,” Ballard began. The room fell silent.
“Everybody was kind of in a daze,” receivers coach Reggie Wayne said.
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Ballard didn’t reveal who was taking over; most assumed it’d be special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone or defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, in that order. Within a few hours, they found out like the rest of the world: via Twitter, news alerts on their phones, group texts. Some were lifting weights. Some were at home, playing “Madden.” Some were, at first, unable to piece it all together.
Wait, Jeff Saturday? They were too young to remember he used to actually play for the Colts. To them, he was the guy they watched on ESPN.
“Took a minute to register,” one player admitted. “Then it clicked: he was always great on ‘First Take.'”
“To be honest, it’s weird,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “It’s a weird situation.”
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The building was in shock. Coaches were frustrated. The Colts had been 3-2-1 just three weeks earlier; now they were in a free fall, mercilessly mocked around the league.
“You go s— the bed in Foxboro and the head coach you love gets fired, replaced by a guy who wasn’t in the building,” center Ryan Kelly said. “It’s been a whirlwind.”
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Foles is under contract for next year, but there’s a chance he retires. He has been adamant all along: the reason he came here was to play for Reich.
“And Frank’s not here,” Foles said recently.
