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Why did the Colts fire Frank Reich? Who’s the new coach?

The Indianapolis Colts fired their Frank Reich a day after Indy’s loss the New England Patriots and announced their new head coach.

Reem Abdalazem
Reem Abdalazem
The Indianapolis Colts fired their head coach, Frank Reich, a day after Indy’s loss the New England Patriots.
Justin CasterlineGetty

The Frank Reich era is over.

On Monday morning, the Indianapolis Colts decided to fire their head coach, Reich, amidst having one of their worst seasons in recent memory. The franchise’s decision came 24 hours after the Colts had their most embarrassing performance of the season, losing 26-3 to the New England Patriots.

Why was Frank Reich fired by the Colts?

This move follows a few other ones by Indy this season; prior to Reich’s firing, they benched Matt Ryan, fired offensive coordinator Marcus Brady, traded away Nyheim Hines, and now, concluded with firing the head coach. With the Colts having one of the worst offenses in the league and sitting at 3-5-1, the organization felt now was the time to move on from the Reich era.

Reich, who was hired in 2018, racked up a 40-33-1 record with a relatively successful first four seasons. He led Indy to two playoff appearances, having never won a division championship, but secured one postseason game. While Reich had a different starting quarterback each of his four coaching seasons, he entered this year with a roster that was more promising than ever, which didn’t play in his favor after his underwhelming performance.

Related: What makes Los Angeles Rams’ wide receiver Cooper Kupp so good?

The Colts announce new head coach

Shortly after the team announced their decision to part ways with Reich, Indy announced that Jeff Saturday, the ESPN analyst and former center who played for the Colts from 1999-2011 would take over as interim head coach. The two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler in Indianapolis had been consulting for the team over the last several seasons.

Jim Irsay had a change of heart

The Colts owner, Jim Irsay, has particularly surprised Indy fans after saying just last week that “Reich’s job was considered safe” and that he was in a good place with both Reich and general manager Chris Ballard.

With Reich now out, attention turns to Ballard. We will just have to wait and see how he survives this eventful season.