Things are far from perfect, but the coach appears well received.
When the NFLPA survey was released it ranked the Indianapolis Colts 19th overall for player satisfaction. That is better than last year, but a far cry from where the team should be. Although the franchise still struggles in areas such as team travel and comfort, it has taken the feedback in stride in other categories and improved weaknesses such as strength conditioning and family care options. While it would be ideal to have high marks in all categories, one area that is especially nice and encouraging to see receive praise is Shane Steichen as head coach.
Joel Erickson of the IndyStar broke down the survey and pointed out where the head coach excelled.
Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen received the highest grades in the survey.
Colts players gave him an A, praising his ability to build a positive culture, his receptiveness to locker room feedback and his efficiency with player time.
This was Steichen’s second year with the team, and the results have been mixed. After knocking on the door of a divisional title, the Colts went backwards last year. While they haven’t established a losing culture, it hasn’t been strong in the win column either. That can cause players to doubt their coach’s vision for the team. Even with the drama of player accountability, or lack thereof, it doesn’t sound like players attribute that to their head coach. There even could have been some questions and a fissure in the locker room regarding how the Anthony Richardson benching was handled. That doesn’t appear to be the case, however.
That is good news going into year three for Shane Steichen as he still has a lot to prove. The players still believe in his ability and feel he is on the right track. Building a positive culture and having the ear of your players is essential to being successful as a coach at any level. To keep that grade, he is going to need to translate it into wins. That is the best way to keep players happy and engaged. Knowing that things haven’t been as smooth as possible but haven’t knocked him off track with the team is a huge win.