Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Steichen STAY? | Despite Ballard's Firing, Could Shane Steichen Return to Colts?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Colts Squad Show. I'm Derek Shultz. And with all the craziness this week, I just remember that the Colts still have a season left to play. And I'm Zach Hicks. And lost in all this Chris Ballard news, like Derek said, is they actually play the Vikings on Sunday? I completely forgot about that. And I'm Alan Pinkett, former Oiler. Was this the only move or the first of many to come? I'm Will Starloper. I was not aware when I took this job. be predicting the 2027 roster this early into the season. Colts Nation rise up. It's the Colt Squad, everything Indianapolis Colts every week.

Starting point is 00:00:40 Covering all the big hits and game changing plays from the Circle City, the way only the Locked On podcast network can. It's time to squad up. The Colt Squad Joe starts now. Welcome once again to the Colts Squad Show. Today's episode is brought you by Fandul. Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandul Rewards. club every week. Check the Fanduil app to see what's waiting for you. I'm Derek Schultz. Longtime

Starting point is 00:01:06 Indy Sports Talker. I'm joined by a nerd name legend and longtime NFL running back in Alan Pinkett, along with Locked on Colts Daily host Zach Hicks and Locked on Colts hit host Will Starlipper. Fully squatted up tonight in the wake of Chris Bowers firing on Monday and we will be addressing some long-term questions still facing the Colts on tonight's show, including could Shane Stuyken actually be retained past this season? So much talk about fire sale and the way. of the Bowerd stuff. We'll go over some scenarios where actually maybe Shane Stuyken would stick around a little bit longer. In fact, his contract, if I'm not mistaken, goes through the 2027 season. So we'll talk about that in segment number one. How will you remember the Chris Bowerd era?

Starting point is 00:01:47 You know, Zach and Jake have already kind of been over this on the daily show. I know Will has had some content about this. But this is the first time Alan and I get to talk about Bowers. We're going to keep talking about Bauer because we have not been here to talk with you guys since Sunday. And of course the news ended up dropping Monday, so we'll take one last look back at nine plus years of Chris Bauer and how that ultimately will be remembered in segment number two. In segment three, as we usually do with our midweek show, as I can mention, yes, they have a game and yes, it's against an undefeated team in the Minnesota Vikings. So we'll take a look at the Vikings.

Starting point is 00:02:19 And speaking of Shane Sykin, perhaps his replacement with the Colts may be facing. Ooh, intrigue there coming up here in segment three. And then in segment four, we're going to play a game. and we're going to try to have fun because, you know, we got to kind of laugh so we don't cry with the current state of things for the cults. Kind of like in your, if you've ever played a keeper fantasy league before, where you get to, most times you get to keep two players. We're only going to keep one. So you keep one cult, sell the rest. Who would your keep be?

Starting point is 00:02:46 We'll talk about that coming up here in segment number four to round out the show. But, Zach, let's start with Shane Stuyken. Obviously, I know, and this is not unique to Shane Stuyken. Any head coach that's put in this position, it's weird. It's weird when your general manager gets fired midseason. And here you kind of are just sort of twisting in the wind. It's not an ideal situation for him. But you have to still do your job.

Starting point is 00:03:10 You have to be a professional. You have to prepare like you always have. What did Chuck Beganne used to say blinders on, right? I mean, Shane Steichen is going to try his best to do that this week. But our mutual friend, Stephen Holder, who covers the Colts for ESPN, I just saw that he had been discussing whether or not, you know, perhaps there was a path back for Shane Steichen to remain the Colts head coach past this season, which honestly in the wake of Bowers firing was not something that I had considered.

Starting point is 00:03:36 But I guess in your opinion, is there a path? And should there be a path? Because I think most people, there's definitely some anti-Shane Stuyken sentiment, right? And I'm not going to defend the job that he's done so far. But I do think that there are some attributes that I like that Shane Stuyping brings to the table as a head coach. The overall package obviously has been lacking here in year number four. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I do think the case is almost impossible to make if he goes four straight years without making the playoffs.

Starting point is 00:04:10 Regardless of the roster that was put around you, I just think that that is a tough case to make to your fan base. So they're leaving the door open in case like, hey, you know what? Maybe there's this big boost because they fired Chris Bauer. I mean, heck, if any of you guys are hockey fans, look at what the Buffalo safe. neighbors did last year when they fired their GM. They won like 30 of 35 games after that and they were like the three seed in the east. So sometimes you can get a little bit of a spark for doing that. And Shane Sikin hasn't been all that as a head coach where I think a lot of us were at the end of the line when it came to Chris Ballard and maybe more so saw the bad than the good when it came to Ballard.

Starting point is 00:04:49 But yeah, I do think it would be a tough case to make. But there is a reason why Scyken wasn't fired at the same time as Chris Ballard because as Stephen Holder has alluded to, he was safer than Ballard coming into this year. That was certainly the case, right? And you can see it by this move happening that Carly Erseigordon certainly views Shane Steichen in higher regard than she viewed Chris Ballard. Will that matter come week 18 and they're like a four-win team? Absolutely not. You know, like they would have to be an eight, nine, maybe ten win teams still somehow for him to be retained on the job. Overall, my like, person, perspective on Shane Steichen is I do think that there is a good head coach in there. I think there were a lot of missteps in this first tenure with the Colts. And I just don't think you can

Starting point is 00:05:36 really bounce back from that with this team in particular, but maybe on his next stint that he can, you know, find his way. Maybe with a GM who actually could get him some productive draft classes. He could certainly, you know, get in there. But yeah, good offensive mind. I think there's a lot to like with him. I would love to see him in his next stint be a lot more involved on both sides of the football. It'd be more of that CEO over top of the team rather than just the offensive guy who hires an experienced DC and just tells them like, okay, you handle defense. I'll handle offense. I do think you have to have your hands in both sides if you're going to be a successful head coach in the NFL nowadays. So yeah, I think that he's going to land on his feet. I think that he'll

Starting point is 00:06:20 likely end up somewhere else. But the Colts are leaving the door open to where like, Look, show what you can do the rest of this season. If the team comes out on Sunday and completely quits and does not show up to this game, that would say a lot about Shane Stuyken as the head coach and his prospects with the Colts going forward. But if they come out like very, very on fire and they beat a Vikings team and then, I mean, heaven forbid they somehow win in Jacksonville, that's not going to happen. But if they somehow were to do that, that's why you're leaving this door open, just to see what it looks like with Shane Stuyken having a little bit more control.

Starting point is 00:06:54 for this season. If it doesn't work out, then you move on. But you're giving that next GM even more choices by leaving Steichen on the table until that hiring is made. And then that GM can choose between other head coaches and Steichen as well. So I think it's just about giving the next GM more choices. Stuyken, I think that there is some good with him. So I understand keeping around. You need somebody to get you to the end of the season, too. Do you want Louana Rumo head coach the rest of the season? Do you want Jim Bob Cooter head coach? You need somebody to get you there across the finish line. So I, um, I I think Stuyken will be here probably until the end of the season, and then it'll ultimately

Starting point is 00:07:28 come down to what the next GM says. And look, this is the exact same thing happened last year with the Miami Dolphins. They fired their GM in the middle of the season. Mike McDaniel was safe until three days after the end of the season, and then he was fired, and that's how it went down. I see something similar happening with the Colts this offseason. I would have to agree with you, Zach, just in, you know, my brief time in the NFL. I actually went through a GM being fired.

Starting point is 00:07:58 And sure enough, it didn't take long. A new coach came in because the GM is the one who pretty much sets the vision for the team, you know, determines, I guess, by the players they select what type of offense they're going to be. Are they going to be a wide open offense? Are they going to be a ground and pound offense? You know, are they going to be a blitzing defense? or are they going to be a bend but don't break? The GM sets that vision.

Starting point is 00:08:28 And it's hard to, when you have someone with a system in place and a GM with a different vision for those two to coexist. Having said that, you know, if Shane Stuyken wins those eight games to get into the playoffs, he's got to go, what, eight and two, eight and three now, To get into the playoffs, you know, there is a case. There's a case. It's like, why would you let this guy go?

Starting point is 00:09:00 I mean, we're winning games, scoring points all over the place. But usually the GM and the head coach are on the same page. And with Ballard being gone, I think the common answer would be Shane Steichen is gone. But, you know, sometimes, sometimes just news around the league makes you want to keep him because there are some anonymous people out there saying, oh, we can't wait for Shane's second to get fired because he would just be a star on this organization or with this organization. There are people that are touting his ability to run an offense that would love to have his services. You know, I even go back to when I was down in Westfield watching a practice,

Starting point is 00:09:58 snuck in to watch Sauce Gardner talk. And Sauce Gardner had mentioned that he thinks Shane is one of top three play callers in the league. You know, so the optimist in me says there is a path for him to be here. But, you know, unfortunately, he's not playing with a full house. He doesn't have all his weapons. You know, with Alec Pierce out, you have no deep threat, although what the Colts did sign somebody today, of course, it makes me think,

Starting point is 00:10:34 well, if nobody else has picked him up this year, it makes them so special. You know, sometimes you do run out of talent, unfortunately, in this league. But I would say 99.9% of the guys get fired. before they're done playing football. So we'll see if McColl Hardman... So what's going on with Darius Slayton now, though?

Starting point is 00:11:01 Is he injured or... He got cut. Okay, all right. Yeah, Shane Seikin just said that he... He's done so. Yeah, they said that it just didn't work out. Okay, all right. Yeah, so they have Kez Watkins on the practice squad.

Starting point is 00:11:12 They have McColle Hardman now. Yep. We'll see. But, yeah, I mean, look, at the end of the day, Stuygens likely not going to be the next head coach for the Colts. but you've got to get someone over the finish line and give the next GM that choice. One thing they can't do is they can't let Stuyken be in on those GM interviews, which I don't think they're going to.

Starting point is 00:11:30 I'm just saying they can't. Don't let him have any input on that. Let it purely be like, hey, if the GM they hire in their plan is like, yeah, we'll have Shane Stuyken be the head coach for another season. Sure, whatever, right? Like, let's see what that next GM's plan is. But don't let Stike and have any say on that. Don't try to force them to be on the same page.

Starting point is 00:11:49 I don't think they're going to because you have to have some. some equity to have that kind of opinion. And Stuyken has built up no equity in his time. Right. And I tell you, you know who has the power in that situation. Is the GM or the coach? You know, if a head coach is allowed to sit in on the choice of a GM, then that coach has the power and no GM wants that job.

Starting point is 00:12:15 Yeah. So it's there is a path, but I would say 80% he's probably gone after this year. Yeah, I was prepping some content for like revisiting Y fans. There are certain fans out there that are confused on why he didn't get canned with Ballard. And I think there's a plethora of reasons why that wouldn't really make sense, obviously not having a first round pick, not having any hot up-and-coming like coaches on the staff, the GM wanting to say.

Starting point is 00:12:50 Then I started thinking, like, is there a world where obviously he always had a longer leash than Ballard, but maybe Carly viewed him as some sort of victim of some Chris Ballard moves where, you know, whether it's a lack of aggressiveness in free agency or a bunch of draft misses, obviously there was a lot of stuff going on there. And you look at some of the positions he's been put in where he's not guilty or he's not innocent himself, but, you know, he's had six starting quarterbacks, I believe, in four years. And I think he was a big reason as to why we went seven and one to start last year. He's, you know, been top 10 points per game running his offense.

Starting point is 00:13:31 But I think there's basically a longer leash, obviously, and I don't think it's, you know, the GM will have the say. But obviously, there's a whole bunch of reasons of, you know, a losing record overall. seven out of 27 wins he has is against losing teams. You know, he's three and ten against the two good teams in our division. I don't, I think there was obviously, at least from my perspective, mismanagement in the way that Anthony Richardson was handled, you know, there's smaller stuff like not being aggressive at end of games.

Starting point is 00:14:05 There's certain leadership questions or culture questions that really falls on him. So, I mean, yeah, again, I'd expect him to last through the season. and more than likely be gone, but I definitely think he's in a position where Carly's cutting him some slack. Yeah, I do think that there is a not-so outlandish scenario where Stuyken is gone from the Colts

Starting point is 00:14:29 maybe goes back to being a coordinator for a couple of years elsewhere and then gets another head coaching gig somewhere else and is very successful. Like, really, I do think that he has the potential to someday be a successful head coach. I just don't think it's here. And we've seen that example

Starting point is 00:14:44 happened before. I mean, the extreme examples are guys like Bill Belichick, right, where the brown stint was a failure and then, you know, you go to the Patriots or like Pete Carroll. But I think it's just kind of one of those things where I'm not sure Shane was ready for a lot of the CEO type stuff of being a head coach, like the other things besides just play calling and running an offense. And, you know, even simple things, and maybe I'm just laser focused on this because I'm ex-media, but like handling the media and what you say publicly and having some tact when it comes to that. Because as much as they botched the Anthony Richardson situation, I think a lot of the botching was what they said publicly was not backed up by what they did privately.

Starting point is 00:15:30 And I think he could fix a lot of those things the second time around. But I think we would all agree, guys, not just with Bowerd. And we can do the blame game until we're blue in the face, right? Like who gets the biggest slice of the pie? all agree that Bauer gets the biggest slice of the blame pie, but there's so much blame pie to go around that this team just needs overall, I think, a clean sheet and a reset. And that, unfortunately, would eat up Shane Sikin with it, whether or not it's deserved or not. That's just, that's life.

Starting point is 00:16:00 That's how the NFL goes. And I think the Colts officially end up turning the page after this year. When we come back on the show, how will we remember the Chris Bower era? There was some good in there. You got to maybe squint to see it, but we're going to squint. a little bit and then we won't squint for the other stuff. We'll discuss when the cold squad show returns next. This portion of the cold squad show brought you by prize picks.

Starting point is 00:16:29 Football is finally back and that means Sundays are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Every week brings new matchups, breakout players, big performances and plenty of storylines to follow. Price picks is bringing out its best offer yet for kickoff. New users who sign up can get $150 in lineups if they win their first $5 lineup and price picks is now available nationwide. Why? What am I on this season or I guess who am I on? I think I might be on Caleb Williams. I got a buddy of mine who's a big Bears fan and talks my ear off about it. I'll tell you why here just a minute. Price Picks has your back when other apps don't.

Starting point is 00:17:00 Did you know that Price Pix invented the injury reboot? If a player in your lineup gets injured in the first half and does not return, your lineup can still cash. The Price Picks injury protection policy helped users win over 31 million bucks. How about that in the 2026 season? So about Caleb, came back healthy, had perhaps his best game of the season 30 at 36 last week, 305 yards and a touchdown in the Bears win over Atlanta. I'd expect more of the same from him, even in a rough two-game stretch coming up here against each of last year's Super Bowl participants in New England and at Seattle.

Starting point is 00:17:33 Download the Price Picks app today and use code locked on NFL to get $150 instantly in lineups when you win your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. And we're back on the Lockdown Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for making us a part of your day slash night slash morning, slash whenever you're watching us. We really appreciate it. Don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club

Starting point is 00:17:57 for ad-free episodes and access to a group chat with Jake, Zach, and other listeners of Locked-on Colts. Tap the link of the show notes or go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash Everydayer Club. And of course, Jake will rejoin us for Sunday show.

Starting point is 00:18:09 It's a road game out there in Minnesota. We'll talk about the Vikings coming up here in segment three. But segment two, just kind of tying a bow on the Chris Bower era. And I think there will be many segments of bow-tying and all of that when it comes to this, you know, that this was a guy, a figure that loomed large over this franchise, not for all the most positive reasons, but, you know, it is a little

Starting point is 00:18:33 bit weird. I mean, just, Zach, even looking back at, you know, I was watching some of like the TV packages and things like that, and they're showing the original introductory press conference photos of Chris Bauer, and I'm like, who's that young man that's there that has all of his hair color and, you know what I mean? And then, of course, Jim Mersey is standing right next to him. So that, of course, takes you in the way back machine as well since he's passed, you know, a year and a half, whatever it was ago. How do you think ultimately fans will remember him?

Starting point is 00:19:01 And I'm not talking about the extremes here, right? Because there were people that hated him all along. And there were people that blindly defended. Hell, there's one or two people that are still blindly defending him on the Internet right now as we speak as amazing as that is. But, like, you know, kind of the medium perception of how Chris Bauer will be remembered for Colts fans. I think the overall, like, long-term memory is going to be the guy who just couldn't recover from the Andrew Luck retirement. Like, that's ultimately what it's going to be. He could not find the solution.

Starting point is 00:19:32 And part of me respects how they weren't really complacent after Luck retired. Like, they always were trying to find better at the quarterback position. It's just they wiped out every time. Like, outside of Philip Rivers. And even then, like with Philip Rivers, like, there is some debate on whether or not Rivers. would have come back for another season if the Colts were trying to swing bigger. And that's why they swung for Carson Wentz, which was an absolute whiff. And then they tried to stabilize by going veteran again with Matt Ryan.

Starting point is 00:20:00 And that was an even bigger whiff. And then they went for the young upside guy and Anthony Richardson. And that was a whiff. And it's just all these misses after Andrew Luck. And I think that's what he's going to be remembered for the most among just the layperson or just the average NFL fan. I think for me, though, the biggest thing I'm going to remember with him is just a tale of two different eras of Chris Ballard.

Starting point is 00:20:22 Like you really have to split it in half from after 2022 and before 2022 because I really think this should have been two different GMs, right? He should have been fired after 2022. Anyone who was here covering the team back then knows that. Everyone but Jim Ursaid knows that he should have been fired after 2022

Starting point is 00:20:40 because it was time to do it. Like he built up something good early on, Andrew Luck retired, he had his whiffs. He was a big part of the Carson Winswitz. and he was an even bigger part of the Matt Ryan with. That should have been enough to get him fired. And I think up until that point, he was a good GM that missed on quarterback a couple times, and that should have been his downfall.

Starting point is 00:21:01 Post-2020, though, I think he was objectively a bad GM in every regard since then. To times where he's like, just like the drafting fell off the map from that. I mean, pre-2020, they landed Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman, Jr., Zeyer Franklin, Grover Stewart, Quentin Nelson, Shaquille Leonard, they drafted so many pivotal players for this franchise. After that, like, Berenhardt, Reimann, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs, right? Like, it was a lot of, a lot of misses after that.

Starting point is 00:21:38 And the drafting fell off a cliff. He tried to change his drafting style to go away from the super athletes to more of these, like older players who are more NFL ready, like Tyler Warren and Laotou Lachia. Jalen 2 and Malowow. And that led to worse results drafting than what it was early when he was just taking these big shots. He tried to change his free agent approach, but it still couldn't fully commit to it. His one offseason where he was aggressive, he was aggressive for like three players, and then he took a back seat,

Starting point is 00:22:05 made the big trade for Sauce Gardner, but still couldn't really commit to going all in the next offseason by only signing Arden Key and Michael Clemens instead of going for other guys. So it's like he was just torn on this second half of his GM stint where he didn't really know what he wanted to be. He kind of lost his identity as a general manager and lost what was kind of working for him in that first stint. And he really just became one of the worst general managers in the NFL. I was a defender of him up until that 2022 season when, okay, ultimately it was time to go. Even if I don't blame everything that happened from 2019 to 22 on him, it was time to start over at GM. from then. I blame a lot of where the Colts are at, though, from how he took this team after

Starting point is 00:22:48 2022, because he shouldn't have been here, and his mistakes just kept making things worse for this team, including the miss on Anthony Richardson, including the trade for Soss Gardner, including missteps in free agency. Like, it has just been a really bad stretch of general managing for this Indianapolis Colts team. So while I do think a lot of people are going to remember him just for, again, like Adam Schefter tweet out all the starting quarterbacks for the Colts since Andrew Luck retired. That's what he's going to be remembered for. But for me, it's more so just like how you can really overstay your welcome. And it's not even not even his fault. Like if someone's going to give you a paycheck stay, obviously, but like it's just

Starting point is 00:23:26 why he should have been fired back in 2022 when everybody was calling for it because we saw how much worse it got after then. Like it really should have been cut in 2022 and start over. Instead, it just kept getting worse and worse and worse and worse. And now we're in this situation where the next GM has to clean up a pretty big mess. Well, if he had been let go after the 22 season, he would just be an average GM. You know, the average career of a GM is three to four years. But he made it into his 10th season. So he might deem it a success that he stayed as long as he did.

Starting point is 00:24:03 And I only had one year with him, you know, so I actually had to go and look up some of his successes and failures. And unfortunately, there were a lot more failures. You know, I appreciate the fact that he did try to take some big swings. But, you know, I guess even Babe Ruth led the league in strikeouts. So you swing big, usually you hit big, but sometimes when you swing big, you strike out. And I guess not being able, I'm still waiting on the coast to sign an edge player, because they still have money under the cap to do it.

Starting point is 00:24:45 And it just never happened. I was just waiting and waiting. And, you know, success at quarterback, that's probably the hardest thing to do as a GM because, you know, a good quarterback is such a precious, rare thing. And, you know, once you have that guy, you know, you got to just an entire organization has to get behind that guy because if you don't have that guy, then you see what happened with the Colts, six, seven, eight different quarterbacks.

Starting point is 00:25:21 And he may have gotten a raw deal with the Andrew Luck retirement. And unfortunately, the Anthony Richardson thing didn't work. I loved Zach how you detailed how he went young, old, young, old. and just none of them seem to work out. And I think the not being able to pick right on the edge is to me an even bigger stain, you know, because you think about it with the defensive backfield that the Colts have. You could just get a little bit of pressure on a quarterback. It would change things for the defense.

Starting point is 00:26:04 So I didn't have much of a time to completely analyze Chris Ballard. But looking over his record, it's one of those had a lot of misses. Yeah, I think I'll definitely be more known for getting kind of screwed over a little bit with Andrew Luck. He'll be known as the bandage patch quarterback guy and probably as well for the draft regression, I guess, like Zach said. I was also a Ballard defender for a good portion post luck. I honestly can't tell. I would assume 20, 22, like Zach is when I started getting a little furious, but I was with him for longer than most because he was dealt a pretty bad hand early on. And like Alan said, he'll probably be known as the guy that was, you know, he would be gone in

Starting point is 00:26:59 three, four years, but ended up lasting for 10 years. The one thing I will give him props on as I think he was really good at drafting offensive lineman if you want to throw some positives in there i think uh you got quentin nelson you got gonzalves bordelini bernard raymond um brayden smith like over the past five or six years so there are some good hits there but for me if i'm going to look back on it um you know really ever since 2021 2021 maybe 23 that kind of area it was like he couldn't pick which way to go. Do I, you know, I'm sure he's thinking how much longer am I going to last year? I can't really blow everything up and make these moves to start rebuilding for a couple years, but, you know, this roster is competent enough. Let's make a couple small moves and see what we

Starting point is 00:27:51 could do. So it was kind of like, you know, which way to go. But I definitely think, you know, this offseason in general, but really the last probably four or five, the lack of aggressiveness there, you know, missing out on guys like Trey Hendrickson and then just holding your money, like all the guys we lost this offseason and just kind of not replacing them. I just think he didn't have a clear path probably for the last half of his tenure. Yeah, I mean, he stuck to his process until the very end, right, Zach? I mean. Yeah, one thing I want to throw in here real quick is there was one off season where he committed to,

Starting point is 00:28:29 I need to close the deal on free agents, right? And that was when they landed and Mooney Ward and Cameron, bind him. But you could tell come the next off season, he was so uncomfortable with that because he couldn't do that with Trey Hendrickson in this last off season, right? So he was like, okay, this will be the one off season where I can close the deal because there were so many free agents he missed on in the past. Xavier McKinney they were in on, but they didn't offer enough. Daniel Hunter, they offered more than the Texans, but he wanted to go back home to Houston. Preston Smith back in like 2019 as well. These were just some guys that I've heard that they

Starting point is 00:29:00 were pretty close on, but they just didn't get over that dollar because he was so strict with cutoffs on free agent approach. And then the one year he did it was for Mooney and Bynum, but then the next off season, he couldn't do it again for Trey Hendrickson, who they missed out by like, what, one and a half million per year on that. And it's just, I think that's such an indictment on just how Ballard always operate. He never wanted to go too far away from his typical approach, no matter what. Dude went back to Texas because there's no state income tax.

Starting point is 00:29:29 Yeah, and he's from there, but yes, that's also probably part of it. I do think that his process, even though he's stuck to it until the very end, was mostly defensible for most of the time that he was here. You know, building through the draft, not going crazy and free agency. It went against what the previous general manager did, who ended up washing out in Ryan Grigsin, right? But that said, it was almost to a fault that he stuck to that process, notably this past off season.

Starting point is 00:29:59 And really, I think what I will most remember about Chris Bauer guys was the constant blind spot. There was at least one every year where he was just very dug in that everything is going to be fine. It was almost like wish casting at certain positions, like cornerback. Remember that one year where they had like Dallas flowers

Starting point is 00:30:17 and those guys? And he was like, we're just going to be fine. Those guys are going to develop and they're going to be fine. And everybody's yelling at you. No, this is not fine. And that it ends up being not fine. I think what a lot of fans will remember about Chris Bauer was that a lot of the criticisms of him

Starting point is 00:30:36 and a lot of the fan complaints ultimately ended up being correct. You know, fans were mostly right about Chris Bauer when they said, hey, the wide receiver room isn't good enough or the edge room isn't good enough or the cornerback room's not good enough or this or that is not good enough. And there was a defiance there, not just with him, but I think with the cults in general that everything was going to be okay. And then ultimately, when the chips were down,

Starting point is 00:30:59 things were not okay. And, you know, I'll remember those teams being close, but I'll also remember the fact that a lot of times when they were close, they went down in flames. You know, 21 went down in flames. 23 was a botched play where it was both a bad throw and a drop,

Starting point is 00:31:17 which was very fitting for the Colts that you would have two things go wrong on the same play against the Texans, right? 24 went down in flames. 25 went down in flames. And I agree with Zach. It really was the tale of two halves. like from 17 to the Jonathan Taylor run against New England in 21, I think the arrow was pointing up.

Starting point is 00:31:36 I don't think it was pointing up, but I think it was pointing up. He had done a good job to that point. But ever since then, something happened after that Cardinals game on Christmas where they never really fully recovered. I mean, they went like this after 22, but they never really got quite back up to where they should be again.

Starting point is 00:31:54 So, you know, if he was not going to be fired after 22, they should have let him go after 24, once it became clear that Richardson was not going to work out. And he stayed on another year and a half after that. So it was, they gave him far, you know, I heard all about Chris Bowers loyalty and his kindness and his grace. You know what, guys, in this situation, the people that were overly loyal and kind and graceful were the cults,

Starting point is 00:32:16 okay, with Boward. They gave him every excuse in the book. They gave him every opportunity to be a success here. And ultimately, he was not successful. So, you know, that was the breaks. That's kind of how, that's how. it goes. We come back on the Colt Squad show. We will take our first look at the Vikings, including somebody on the opposing sidelines who may be on the Colts sidelines as soon as

Starting point is 00:32:36 next year. We'll discuss next. David Harrison here at the Lotton Commanders podcast. Talk about Butcher Box. I'm someone who's always trying to make sure I'm getting enough protein. For me, that gets a whole lot easier when I've got a freezer full of the good stuff and I'm not stuck trying to figure out what to do for dinner. And I like having that quality protein ready to go, whether it's for the whole family or it's just for myself so I can avoid that dreadful. takeout order and butcher box delivers 100% grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild-caught seafood, and more all sorts of standards they can actually tell you about they've already done the work. So all you have to do is figure out what's for dinner.

Starting point is 00:33:22 So if you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give Butcher Box a try. Go to butcherbox.com slash locked on NFL. You get $20 off your first box. Plus you get your choice of free rib eye. That's the way I went. New York strip or filet mignon. every box for a year and you always get free shipping always. That's butcherbox.com slash locked on NFL.

Starting point is 00:33:44 Again, butcherbox.com slash locked on NFL. Make sure you use our link so they know we sent you. Rolling right along here in a midweek edition of the Locked on Colts squad show. Thanks so much for joining us alongside former NFLer Alan Pinkett and Zach Hicks of Locked on Colts. And Will Star Lipper, Locked on Colts hit host. I'm Derek Schultz. looking forward to the Vikings because, yes, the Colts do have a game this week. In fact, they have 11 more of these things for the rest of the season,

Starting point is 00:34:14 which they are obligated to play, whether you guys like it or not. Not great timing to go on the road, which has been a bit of a house of horrors for the Colts. Of course, the 2022 epic historic comeback win for the Vikings, which was kind of the cherry on top of the crap Sunday that was that 2020 season. And then a really rough night, the last Colts trip there, which was 2024. It was a game that got flexed, actually. And Joe Flacco was the starting quarterback.

Starting point is 00:34:43 And it was one of those games where the Vikings basically dominated the game. And somehow, I want to say, wasn't it a DeForest Buckner or a Grover Stewart like strip sack, scoop and score? And it made it feel like. I forgot that game happened until you said that happened. Yeah. It made it feel like it was close. it really wasn't a close game. But I think the final score ended up being like 20 to 13.

Starting point is 00:35:08 So on the box score, it appears to be a close game. But it was never a game that you felt like the Colts were going to have the ability to win. But what I do think is interesting, Zach, and look, the Colts are going to cast a wide net here. They're going to bring in lots of people assuming that they end up moving on from Shane Stuyken. But I think Brian Flores is going to have to be on that list, right? A very successful defensive coordinator right now who was doing a nice job with that Vikings unit. Yeah, Brian Flores will get interviews for sure. We'll see if he's able to land a head coaching job.

Starting point is 00:35:38 There's a little more to that, obviously, than just good to put a coach candidate. There's his lawsuit with the NFL and also, from everything I've heard, he's a very, I don't mean this as a negative way, just saying how it is. He's a very dictator-like personality in terms of like how he approaches things he controls. And part of, you know, why that Minnesota Vikings' GM was fired before the year, was because of how Brian Flores was like, hey, I'm making the picks for defense. So we'll see how Privia GM is going to be to hiring somebody like that, you know, where it's like, no, I'm drafting for this side of the ball.

Starting point is 00:36:15 And who knows if he's going to want to draft for both sides of the ball if he's the head coach. But Brian Flores' defenses are incredible. Like if you're just looking at his track record there in Minnesota, the way he's been able to build up that unit and just his approach, I mean, bringing the Pat Narduzi pit status, like stuff from college to the NFL where, you know what, we're going to just blitz you. We're going to punch your quarterback in the mouth 10 times a game, 15 times a game. And eventually he's going to start seeing stars, you know, and he's going to make mistakes as a result. I think it's a great way to approach. I grew up a big fan of Bud Foster at Virginia Tech for such a long time, and Bud Foster viewed the game in a very similar way.

Starting point is 00:36:52 So I love seeing this at the NFL level. And this is a horrible time for Daniel Jones to be facing this type of defense, If you watch that Tennessee game, it was definitely his worst showing of the year in terms of, like, so skittish in the backfield. Like on every single dropback, it was fading in the pocket, running when guys were open. And then randomly there was just pressing, right? Where it was like, why are we throwing this, you know, into a cover two hole shot when the corner is drifting back into that zone in the red zone? When they ran the ball all the way down to the red zone on the, you know, the drive right out of the house. half. I think Daniel Jones is in a really bad place with his confidence in how he's seeing the

Starting point is 00:37:33 field right now, whether it's confidence in the leg, whether it's confidence in the system. I don't know, but he is just not looking comfortable whatsoever. And now you're going against Brian Flores, who's going to bring six-man pressures in your face. And they're going to be having these zone drops on the back of their fire blitzes where they are pinching receivers with these zone drops. and they are attacking every in-break, every single break, and you don't have the time to wait for these receivers to do double moves or break back to the outside. So they're going to force a lot of mistakes.

Starting point is 00:38:05 They are a havoc, havoc, havoc, havoc defense. And I don't think the Colts match up very well at all with that type of defense of style. So if I were the Colts, I think the way that you really want to approach this is throw the ball fewer than 25 times in this one. Like, give it to Taylor, give it to McGowan, have them falling forward for three to four-yard gains as much as possible in this one. Avoid the negative plays, avoid the turnovers, and try to win a kicking battle. I mean, they actually have the best kicker in football outside of Spencer Schrader. This is actually the battle between the two best kickers in the league right now. But get into a

Starting point is 00:38:39 kicker duel, because that can go either way, at least. I think if the Colts try to win in explosive plays or in havoc differential or turnover differential, it's not going to be a pretty game for them. Like, they have to drag Minnesota to the mud if they want to have a chance to win this one because outside of that, I just don't see the avenue for putting up points on this, like, stout Vikings defense. Rookie mistake, sorry. I think one of the better games that the Colts played was against the Chiefs in a spagnola defense that likes to bring pressure. But Brian Flores is spagnolla on steroids. And, you know, that constant pressure, you know, unless you're able to hit a couple of times and make them back off.

Starting point is 00:39:32 It's just relentless and quite frankly, you get tired to get knocked on your ass. So not a good time for the Colts to be playing a Brian Flores defense. So don't have a lot of high prospects for this game. Also, you know, there are two things that usually, travel, even though the culture traveling. Defense and a running game. Minnesota's done a real good job with their running game. In fact, they've surprised me because when they made the switch at quarterback,

Starting point is 00:40:12 you know, I didn't know how well that would go, but they're undefeated. But it's almost like watching the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Seahawks version in Minnesota. with that defense and they're doing just enough on the offense to get by. And you got to take your hat off for that defense because, look, they held Chicago to, what was it, 9.6 points, something like that, you know, and Chicago dropped 50 on somebody, you know, they have a good offense. So not a good time to be playing that defense. And also one of the things that happens is, what, they've won five games.

Starting point is 00:41:03 Now they got that confidence for it. They don't think they can be beat. But it's great motivation in terms of the Colts, having lost the game, you shouldn't have lost. And this is why the term on any given Sunday exists, because any team in the NFL can rise up at any time. and this weekend would be a good time for players, because let's face it now, but it's not just the coaches that are on the clock right now.

Starting point is 00:41:37 You know, if they've let go to GM, chances are to let go to coaches, and they will probably clean house, even though you've got some good players. You see all the talk that's out there now about, ooh, we can go get Quentin Nelson. Oh, let's go get Jonathan Taylor. well let's go get to Forrest Buckner.

Starting point is 00:41:57 You know, these players now are playing for, you know, their future on this team. Also, everybody is being looked at right now. And usually that type of fear brings about a good performance on the field. Yeah, a brutal matchup to have after everything went down last week. obviously, like Alan was kind of hinting at, maybe it's a solid little trap game, but I've definitely been spending most of my time this week more focused on the whole Ballard stuff and what Shane Steichen's outlook is and what could we, what moves could we make, what could we do next year?

Starting point is 00:42:42 But, yeah, you know, that Vikings defense is number one or number two in the NFL. I mean, they've allowed six total touchdowns all season. It has the potential to get ugly if we show. up, you know, how we've showed up at times. But, but yeah, like in terms of looking forward to next year and some of the stuff I've been doing for the Colts hit show is, all right, well, it's getting kind of fun to look at head coaches and stuff. But I don't, I don't want to, like, overstep on something that I really don't know much about. But, like, there's a ton of reports out there from, like, certain sports media outlets of, you know, what a big personality, I guess,

Starting point is 00:43:20 Brian Floress is kind of like some of the wording was like lacking people skills like dictator type of thing like I want it my way or the highway and just kind of overall aggressive and I think my first whole thing was kind of how everything that went down with Tua when he was in Miami. Now in hindsight he was probably right to not mess with Tua as the quarterback but you know there are some like culture question marks there so I guess in terms of like you know defensive coordinator and how he runs his defense. Like we know exactly what he's going to bring to any NFL team. He can be the head coach for it.

Starting point is 00:43:57 Just probably, you know, what GM is going to mesh with him and bring him on. Yeah, he doesn't sound like he'd be necessarily a great fit. But, you know, I think he will get talked to because clearly he's doing a good job there. And it's been talked to for other jobs here in the past. So, you know, going back to Alex. He's a smart guy. He's just. he wants control.

Starting point is 00:44:22 Like that's the thing. I want to make sure it's out there because sometimes people go too far profiling certain coaching candidates and stuff like that. And I want to make sure that we're not just saying that he's like an arrogant or anything. Like he just likes a lot of control because he's confident and very smart. And that might rub some people wrong. Yeah. And that's different in today's NFL game.

Starting point is 00:44:43 You know, what's happened is in college is where you get the dictator for the coach. and in the NFL, it's a collaboration, it's a partnership. And that's because, you know, some of the guys are older than the coach. And some of the guys are making more money than the coach. And a lot of guys in the NFL don't even call the coach, coach, call him by his first name. So it's a lot different dynamic in the NFL. So to get that dictator in the NFL, you've got to have to write guys around him. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:45:17 But outside of Florida, I do wonder, you know, just talking about the game, going back to your point, Alan, whether or not, you know, the last time the Colts made a midseason firing of either a coach or a general manager, if you'll remember, was in 2022 when they let go of Frank Reich after getting blown out in New England. And they went to Vegas and beat the Raiders in Jeff Saturday's debut in the ultimate dead cat bounce of all dead cat bounces in the NFL because after that temporary spike, the Colts immediately went back in the tank and ended up losing every game that they had. So this does look like a huge dead cat bounce type spot for the Colts in Minneapolis. But I just, like Will said, I hate the matchup. This matchup just looks nightmarish with where their strengths are and their propensity to blitz and how Daniel Jones has handled that so far and just how the Colts offense in general has handled that so far.

Starting point is 00:46:09 So I'm not expecting good things. But the good thing is, is that with where the Colts are in this season, I'm not sure if the emotional investment is where it would normally be knowing where 2026, unfortunately, is likely headed. When we come back on the show, we're going to play Fantasy Keeper League a little bit here with the Colts. We know that they're likely going to be taking some phone calls. Perhaps they already are about some veteran players.

Starting point is 00:46:37 So we will pick our Colts Keep. Who would your Colts Keep be under no circumstances? Would you even pick up the phone for this guy if there was a player on this Colts roster that you would say that about. We'll conclude the Colt Squad show with that next. This portion of the Colt Squad show brought to you by Fandul. Welcome to your most rewarding NFL season ever, only on Fanduel. How rewarding are we talking? More rewarding than a touchdown with time expiring. More rewarding than an 18-point comeback, maybe even more rewarding than an O-Linman catching a touchdown. This season, Fandul is making the excitement go beyond what happens on the field with all new Fandul Rewards Club,

Starting point is 00:47:18 featuring exclusive offers, surprises, and more. Every week, check the FanDuel app to see what's waiting for you. A touchdown with time expiring, that's tough to beat. But the ultimate reward for Colts fans right now is finding a general manager who can help finally shift this roster and franchise out of neutral. Likely heading into a sixth-rate playoffless season here in Indianapolis, a leadership change brings back hope that the Colts fan patience can finally be rewarded, right? Unlike your favorite team, you never have to be worried about being rewarded with the Fan Tour Rewards Club.

Starting point is 00:47:47 Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandul. Visit fandul.com to get started. And we're back for a final time here on the Locked on Colts Squad Show. Thanks so much for joining up with us. We will be back with you on Sunday following Colts and Vikings in lovely Minneapolis. I hear that stadium is incredible. I've not been there before. I've been to Minneapolis, but I've not actually been to the stadium.

Starting point is 00:48:15 I've been to the outside of it. It looks pretty cool. 430 or so, 445. That's around where we'll be. we are your home here on Locked on Colts for live post-game reaction to every single Colts game this season. And that, of course, will continue on Sunday afternoon when we're rejoined by Jake Arthur. But guys, I thought it would be fun to do this. Again, I'm trying to find fun things to do on the show because things are not so fun right now in Coltsland.

Starting point is 00:48:42 But I thought to myself, a lot of guys are going to be out there, dangled out there, either proactively by the Colts or at least reactively and picking up the phone and listening to team offers, especially for some of the veteran players. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to trade guys on rookie contracts, right? But, you know, DeForest Bukker, Grover Stewart, do you pick up the phone for Jonathan Taylor? You know, guys like that. So I thought to myself, if there was one guy that you could designate as your keep guy, who would that end up being?

Starting point is 00:49:12 Zach, somebody jump out to you, like the ultimate, maybe there is no such thing as an ultimate keep guy on this Colts roster. And maybe that's an indication of the job that Chris Bauer did. But if there was somebody that you had to choose to keep it with it. Yeah. I mean, I'm going to add the stipulation that this is only guys on second or third contracts, right? We're not talking because rookie contract guys, obviously you're going to keep them.

Starting point is 00:49:33 Right. What's the point? Yeah. Right. So of guys who could realistically be moved because they're on second or third contracts. I mean, I'm kind of with you in the sense of like, I don't really know if there's anyone who's absolutely off the table, right? Like there's no something.

Starting point is 00:49:48 Like you don't have this foundational. building block at edge or left tackle or wide receiver or quarterback right now. So because of that, like I think anyone should be on the table. Even when I say like, you know, I wouldn't be so proactive right now at moving Jonathan Taylor unless you got some godfather offer because I'd rather the next GM make that decision. I don't want Dodd's making too many decisions here because I don't think he's really going to be any part of this organization here in a couple months.

Starting point is 00:50:16 So I think obviously like you're trying to move guys like Buckner and Grover because they're not going to be here. But it gets more interesting when you're talking guys like sauce and Bynum and Jonathan Taylor. I think ultimately, though, for me, just because, again, the Colts are going to have so much cap space, you're going to want to start playing the comp pick game a little bit because they need to recoup some value. So you're not going to be very active and free agency outside of, again, trying to find some cut players and ways to build up your roster and make sure you're still getting

Starting point is 00:50:43 picks back in here. So since they don't really have anyone to pay, I mean, might as well just keep quitting Nelson, right? Like, I think an offensive lineman is stage of your franchise proof, right? If you're rebuilding, if you are competing, if you're a midling team, you want to have someone who can protect your quarterback. And as long as you're not paying four to five offensive linemen, as long as you're paying anywhere between two and three at a time, your cap is going to be clean. You still have space for acquiring that wide receiver, that quarterback, that that defensive end, right? So I think that there is value to keeping a Quentin Nelson

Starting point is 00:51:19 who's still playing at a Hall of Fame pace right now. He should be a first-team all-pro this season at the way he's playing. Now, again, if someone comes in here and offers me a first for him, you're probably got to take it because you don't have a first right now. Right? Like, you just need to keep building up the value of the team and trying to reinvest into those core positions, but that's not going to happen.

Starting point is 00:51:39 And with that not happening, I think retaining Quentin Nelson makes the most sense. So if I had to keep anybody to be him, and something I always come back to, and I know this is more of like the emotional part of football, but I do think that's part of all this. I would hate for Quentin Nelson to be remembered the way that Trent Williams is going to remember with Washington, right? Where when you tell Trent Williams story after he retires, Washington's not going to be a part of it. Like, it really is not going to be a part of his story at all.

Starting point is 00:52:06 He's going to be remembered as a 49er, where Zach Martin will always be a cowboy, right? Despite not really having much success there, he will always be a cowboy. And I do think that that does matter a little bit here. So, yeah, I mean, you can keep a Hall of Fame. still in his prime, who's still a Hall of Famer, protect your next quarterback that you bring in here. I think that there's value there, but also, again, just the, I want Quentin Nelson to be a Colt.

Starting point is 00:52:29 I don't want him to be a 49er, you know, like Trent Williams is. Again, that can change if you're offered a first-round pick. I know that's, you know, there's always that two sides to everything. There's the emotion and there's the logical side of it. That can certainly change, but ultimately, if I had to keep anyone, it is absolutely Quentin Nelson, because I still think he's got another four to five good years at the pace that he's playing right now. Well, based on that thinking, is Peyton Manning remember more as a cult or a Bronco?

Starting point is 00:52:59 It's debatable. It's debatable. And it shouldn't be, right? Because almost all those years came with the cause. I think the reason this stadium was built was because Peyton was here. You know, but I digress. I will admit that I am biased. And so I think the guy that shouldn't be touched is Jonathan Taylor. You know, but then if you let go of people on the line, how good is Jonathan Taylor? You know, but I think he gives you stability in the backfield. But, you know, everybody in this case is expendable, unfortunately. And if you can recoup, you know, some drafts, if anybody,

Starting point is 00:53:46 if a first round pick is off for that guy is gone. Yeah. Let's see. That guy is gone. I am so curious to see if they can get a desperate team for Taylor because we're talking about a top five at worst top. Yeah, at worst top seven running back in the league this year. And the NFL, people want to run the ball now.

Starting point is 00:54:07 And you look at some of these contending teams. Like obviously he's not going to get dealt to Houston, but God, Houston's running game right now is dreadful. Right. About the Giants. Yeah. The Giants, Vikings, Seahawks, Browns, or not Browns, Bengals, who I wanted to say. Maybe if the Browns think they're competitive.

Starting point is 00:54:26 Bangles, like, there's a lot of teams that could you, Broncos is another one too, right? Like, with all the, like, I wonder how competitive the bidding war gets for Taylor. Because obviously, the minimum you're looking for is a third, right? Because that's the comp pick you would get back. If someone goes up to a second, do you take it? Maybe. if someone goes up to it first, you do take it. Like, you almost have to at that point.

Starting point is 00:54:48 Oh, yeah. But I'm curious to see what it looks like. Just because in-season desperation, with this new trade deadline getting moved back now, like we saw like desperation in least to higher prices like it was with the cold trading two first round picks for Sawdust Gardner last year, could we see like an inflation a little bit

Starting point is 00:55:04 on a trade offer for Taylor? I think that's going to be so interesting to see. But I also think of it is if they could get four second round picks, is that as good as one first round? pick? I would rather take the four second round that's just me, but I view the draft analytically. It's a lottery.

Starting point is 00:55:23 Just want more shots at it. Yeah, more bites at the apple, right? Right. That's the way I view it. Yeah, so, I mean, that Jaguars trade in the draft day movie was actually good work. No, I'm just kidding. They trained like an overall pick there. But yeah, no, I think Taylor could, it's certainly going to be shot, but I understand the

Starting point is 00:55:39 sentimentality of it, Alan, of wanting him to stick around because like Nelson, I mean, Nelson's going to be a of Famer, Taylor's going to have a case when he retires, you know, like, I understand the sentimentality of it. And I will throw this in from a player's perspective. Each player would like to begin and end their career with the same team, you know, because there's just so much more you can do after your playing days, you know, having played in that town and more business opportunities open up for you. And, you know, you make so many connections in that town.

Starting point is 00:56:19 No guy wants to be traded. Now, unless there are circumstances that make them want to be traded. They don't like the coach that they have or they don't like the system. But most guys want to stay with the team that drafted them. Yeah, I hate to be that guy, but I do think like the position. value is definitely a factor as well like obviously I want to keep Jonathan Taylor and Quentin Nelson like they would be my top two top two keeps as well I think in terms of you know I will say this I talked about like possible quarterbacks that the Colts could have

Starting point is 00:56:58 next season and people were just like appalled at the options I was throwing out and I was like it's realistically like there may not be like a good quarterback here next year you know these these rebuilds take time and so if I'm thinking whatever or it's next year or the next, and we have like a future quarterback that we're investing in, I think that having that premier offensive alignment like Quentin Nelson is the most important thing for a quarterback you're trying to develop. And I mean, for example, you look at Jonathan Taylor, obviously phenomenal career, phenomenal, different seasons and start to last year.

Starting point is 00:57:34 But ever since our collapse happened last season, so the last 13 games, you know, he's been averaging under 80 yards per carry. or 80 yards per game and four yards per carry, you know, when you're in a rebuild and, you know, he's going to be 28, not that that's like super old or anything, obviously older for a running back, but you're in a rebuild, I would value like one of the better, like, left tackles in the game, you know, over a running back that could struggle in a bad offense. Yeah. I'll actually go, I'll go against the grain a little bit.

Starting point is 00:58:08 And the way that I approach this is who on the roster plays a position that can be a game-breaking position and who on the roster still has maybe some upside left that might not be as established and still has an upside. I think, honestly, guys, my keep would be Pierce. I'm not keeping Quentin Nelson because left guard just doesn't impact the game. He's a great player. It just doesn't impact the game like a wide receiver does. Yeah, and I think there's still some more upside left with Pierce, whereas you've probably seen the best version of Jonathan Taylor. I think maybe Berlin last year might have been that. And also a running back really largely can't impact a game in a vacuum because they need the other pieces to be working around them too.

Starting point is 00:58:59 There are exceptions to that rule, right? But even some great ones generally in a vacuum can't operate like that. I mean, we've seen Alec Pierce take the top off of defense with Anthony Richardson at quarterback. We've seen him be really affected with Daniel Jones a quarterback. You know, I think the only one that he wasn't really effective with are the guys like Minshu and Ryan who couldn't throw the ball more than eight yards. So I think that he would actually be my keeper because, and I've seen a lot of people say this. Like, when they're listing all of the bad stuff Bauer did, well, and he gave money to a broken down receiver and that was a bad deal. Like, I still think that's going to end up being a good deal.

Starting point is 00:59:34 I still think Alec Pierce has a bright future as a cult and is going to be a really good NFL player. And maybe I'm wrong about that. But there have been other guys that I've been like, eh, I'm not so sure. Like Alec Pierce, I'm sure is going to be a player that was worth rewarding for that contract. Yeah, I'll say this real quick before we get out of here. But it is funny whenever I see people like, okay, to do list for the next GM is get rid of Jones and fire Shane, get rid of Pierce. Get rid of. I'm like, if anything, Pierce's value has gone up this season, right?

Starting point is 01:00:02 Like, look at how horrendous the offense looks. without him, right? Yeah. They still have Taylor, they still have Jones, they still have Nelson and Ryman and all these other guys, but you take one person out in Alec Pierce, and all of a sudden this offense is losing all efficiency or turning the ball over at a crazy rate, can't run the football at all. Like, if anything, he's the only guy who's shown his value out of all those people this season because he hasn't played and look what's happened.

Starting point is 01:00:28 So I'm with you, Derek. Luckily, because of the injury, no one's going to offer for him, so I don't think he's really a threat of going anyway. but some of these other guys, like obviously there will be discussions come in the next few weeks and also in the off season. Thanks so much for joining us on this latest edition of the locked on Colts squad show. We are your place for postgame Colts reaction as our Colts squad shows will follow each and every Colts game this season. We'll next be with you on Sunday following Colts and Vikings in Minneapolis, probably 430, 445 somewhere around then. As always, keep it locked on Jake and Zach every day on Locked on Colts.

Starting point is 01:01:01 Be sure to follow at Locked on Cults on socials and add at Colts underscore hit for our guy Will Star Lipper's great hit content five minutes and under. It's awesome. Don't forget to check out our other great offerings on YouTube and TikTok, and we'll see you next time right here on the squad show.

Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - COLTS SQUAD SHOW: Steichen STAY? | Despite Ballard's Firing, Could Shane Steichen Return to Colts?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.