List of Indianapolis Colts head coaches

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Tony Dungy is a former head coach of the Colts. He led them to their second Super Bowl victory in Miami (XLI). Tony Dungy Navy.jpg
Tony Dungy is a former head coach of the Colts. He led them to their second Super Bowl victory in Miami (XLI).

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are a member of the South Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). In 1953, a Baltimore-based group led by Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a new Baltimore franchise. Rosenbloom was granted an NFL team, and was awarded the holdings of the defunct Dallas Texans organization. The team was known as the Baltimore Colts for 31 seasons before moving to Indianapolis in March 1984. [1]

Contents

There have been 19 [a] head coaches for the Colts franchise. Keith Molesworth became the first coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1953, but he was reassigned to a different position with the team following the season. [2] In terms of tenure, Weeb Ewbank has led the team for more games (112) and more complete seasons (nine) than any other head coach. He led the team to two of their NFL championships. Four Colts head coaches; Ewbank, Don Shula (3), Ted Marchibroda, and Tony Dungy have been named coach of the year by at least one major news organization. Ewbank, Shula, and Dungy are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1978, 1997, and 2016 respectively. [3] [4]

Six times in Colts history there were interim head coaches. In 1972, Don McCafferty was fired five games into the season. [2] John Sandusky was named as the interim head coach for the rest of the season, during which he led the Colts to a 4–5 record, but he was not made the permanent coach the next year. In 1974, head coach Howard Schnellenberger started off the season 0–3 and was fired. Joe Thomas assumed the duties of head coach and finished the season at 2–12. [2] In 1991, the Colts started off 0–5 and Ron Meyer was fired as head coach. Rick Venturi was named as the interim for the final 11 games. [5] In 2005 Tony Dungy was forced to miss one game due to personal issues. Jim Caldwell was named as the one game interim. [6] In 2012 offensive coordinator Bruce Arians was named as the interim head coach indefinitely after Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia four weeks into the 2012 NFL season. [7] Arians led the Colts to a 9–3 record – the record being credited to Pagano – and made the playoffs. Following a 3–5–1 start, Frank Reich was fired and on November 7, 2022, the Indianapolis Colts named Jeff Saturday as the team's interim coach for the rest of the season, during which he led the Colts to a 1–7 record. He was not made the permanent coach the next year.

Key

#Number of coaches
GCGames coached
WWins
LLosses
TTies
Win% Winning percentage
*Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
^Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
†Spent entire professional NFL head coaching career with the Colts

Coaches

Note: Statistics are accurate through the end of the 2024 NFL season.
#ImageNameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwardsReference
GCWLTWin%GCWL
Baltimore Colts
1 Keith Molesworth† 1953 12390.333––– [8]
2 Weeb Ewbank 1961.jpg Weeb Ewbank* 1954–1962 11259521.527220 AP NFL Coach of the Year (1958) [9]
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1958) [9] 		[10]
3 Don Shula at Giants Stadium.jpg Don Shula* 1963–1969 9871234.725523 AP NFL Coach of the Year (1964, 1967, 1968) [9]
Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1964, 1968) [9]
Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1968) [9] 		[11]
4 Don McCafferty 1970–1972 3322101.667541 [12]
5 John Sandusky, American football tackle, in 1952.png John Sandusky† 1972 [b] 9450.444––– [13]
6 Howard Schnellenberger Carrfour (headshot).jpg Howard Schnellenberger† 1973–1974 174130.235––– [14]
7 Joe Thomas† 1974 [c] 11290.182––– [15]
8 Ted Marchibroda.jpg Ted Marchibroda 1975–1979 7441330.554303 AP NFL Coach of the Year (1975) [9]
Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (1975) [9]
Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year (1975) [9]
UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1975) [9] 		[16]
9 Mike McCormack 1973.JPG Mike McCormack^ 1980–1981 329230.281––– [17]
10 Frank Kush† 1982–1983 257171.300––– [18]
Indianapolis Colts
– Frank Kush† 1984 154110.267––– [18]
11 Hal Hunter† 1984 [d] 1010.000––– [19]
12 Rod Dowhower† 1985–1986 295240.172––– [20]
13 Ron Meyer 1986–1991 [e] 7136350.507202 UPI NFL Coach of the Year (1987) [9] [21]
14 Rick Venturi 1991 [f] 111100.100––– [22]
– Ted Marchibroda.jpg Ted Marchibroda 1992–1995 6430340.469321 [16]
15 Lindy Infante 1996–1997 3212200.375101 [23]
16 Jim E. Mora 2011.jpg Jim Mora 1998–2001 6432320.500202 [24]
17 Tony Dungy award cropped.jpg Tony Dungy* 2002–2008 11285270.7591376 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year (2005) [9]
Maxwell Football Club NFL Coach of the Year (2005) [9] 		[25]
18 Jim Caldwell 2016.jpg Jim Caldwell 2009–2011 4826220.542422 [26]
19 Chuck pagano ravens.jpg Chuck Pagano† 2012–2017 [g] 9653430.552633 [27]
20 Frank Reich Behind enemy lines (cropped).png Frank Reich 2018–2022 [h] 7440331.547312 [28]
21 Jeff Saturday 2022 (cropped).jpg Jeff Saturday† 2022 [i] 8170.125––– [29]
22 Shane Steichen † 2023–present3417170.500––– [30]

Notes

  1. ↑ Although Bruce Arians was named as interim head coach during the 2012 season, he was not credited with the team's record while in charge.
  2. ↑ John Sandusky was the interim head coach for nine games during the 1972 season.
  3. ↑ Joe Thomas was the interim head coach for 11 games during the 1974 season.
  4. ↑ Hal Hunter was the interim head coach for the final game of the 1984 season.
  5. ↑ Ron Meyer was the interim head coach for three games during the 1986 season.
  6. ↑ Rick Venturi was the interim head coach for 11 games during the 1991 season.
  7. ↑ During the 2012 season, Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia. Bruce Arians was the interim head coach for 12 games, while Pagano underwent treatment. Arians led the team to a 9–3 record and won the AP NFL Coach of the Year for 2012. However, the record was credited to Pagano.
  8. ↑ Originally, Indianapolis intended to hire Josh McDaniels as their head coach for the 2018 season. Though the Colts and McDaniels had verbally agreed to terms for a contract, McDaniels backed out of the agreement a day before his official introduction as head coach to return to his position as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots. As such, Frank Reich was hired instead.
  9. ↑ Jeff Saturday was the interim head coach for eight games during the 2022 season.

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References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "Indianapolis Colts". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "Baltimore Colts: Historical Moments". Baltimore Colts. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Coach Ewbank Laid To Rest". CBS News. November 18, 1998. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Don Shula: NFL Coaching Legend". Nationwide. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Indianapolis Colts: Historical Moments". Indianapolis Colts. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  6. ↑ "Dungy's son, 18, found dead in Tampa suburb". ESPN. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Chuck Pagano battling leukemia". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Keith Molesworth". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "NFL Coach of the Year Award". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Weeb Ewbank". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  11. ↑ "Don Shula". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  12. ↑ "Don McCafferty". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  13. ↑ "John Sandusky". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  14. ↑ "Howard Schnellenberger". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Joe Thomas". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  16. 1 2 "Ted Marchibroda". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Mike McCormack". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  18. 1 2 "Frank Kush Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Hal Hunter Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Rod Dowhower". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Ron Meyer". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Rick Venturi". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Lindy Infante". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  24. ↑ "Jim Mora". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2008. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Tony Dungy". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2009. Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  26. ↑ "Jim Caldwell Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Chuck Pagano Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on November 19, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Frank Reich Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Jeff Saturday Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  30. ↑ "Shane Steichen Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 6, 2025.

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