Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Brian Callahan is EXACTLY What Indy Needs

Episode Date: February 2, 2023

The Indianapolis Colts' head coaching search continues, as the team is down to 8 finalists (somehow, this list keeps growing). Today, we talk to Jake Liscow of Locked on Bengals to get the inside scoop on Brian Callahan. From Callahan's background to what he could do with a young quarterback, he may be exactly what the Colts need.Find and follow Locked On Colts on your favorite podcast platforms:🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOColts?sid=YouTube📺YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLdpxJspi1hMh5HL7ExpWOQLocked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFLFollow Jake and Zach's written work on HorseshoeHuddle.com, and give them a follow on Twitter @JakeArthurNFL, @ZachHicks2, @LockedOnColts, and @ColtsOnFN!Today’s episode is presented by PrizePicks. PrizePicks is daily fantasy made easy. Pick 2-6 players and if they score more or less than their PrizePicks projection you can win up to 25x your money on your entry. First-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BlueNileAt Blue Nile, you can find the perfect piece of jewelry for life’s special moments—or even create the custom engagement ring of her dreams! Right now, you can save up to fifty percent at BlueNile.com. LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.PrizePicksFirst-time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.TurboTaxCome to TurboTax and don’t do your taxes. Visit TurboTax.com to learn more.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Place your first FIVE DOLLAR bet to get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Free Bets – win or lose! Visit Fanduel.com/LockedOn today to get startedFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Indianapolis Colts are somewhat narrowing down their pool of finalists here for their head coaching vacancy. And we're going to talk about one of the more promising candidates in this cycle today. Let's jump into a big conversation on Bengals offense coordinator Brian Callahan. Let's get to it. You are locked on Colts. Your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network.

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That's prizepicks.com, promo code LOCKEDON. I'm Zach Hicks, and my Jake is not here, but I'm joined by Jake Lisko of Locked On Bengals to talk about a very, very enticing, very intriguing candidate for the Indianapolis Colts in this head coaching search, Brian Callahan. So Jake, first off, before we jump into this, I'm sorry about the crushing loss the other day. I know that that was a tough one for you guys, but luckily, you know, when you have the quarterback that you guys have, you'll probably be there every single year. So sorry about the loss of the championship game the other day. Not the most fun time, you know,

but we've seen the Bengals do this before and we've grown accustomed to numbing ourselves to dumb ways to lose football games. And it just didn't make enough plays in the end. And the officials will be a story to me in that game, but it's a subplot, not the main plot, because they had their opportunities, and they were just too banged up with cluster injuries on the offensive line.

So, you know, sometimes it's too much to overcome. I will tell you, man, even when you have that great quarterback and you get there so young, I mean, coming from the Indianapolis Colts perspective, you know, Peyton Manning, we had the shoelace tackle with Pittsburgh. We had Billy Volick beating them in the playoffs. We had countless other crazy events. But luckily, when you have a quarterback of Joe Burrow's caliber, you will always be there.

So that's always the thing to be excited about. But yeah, we're going to talk about something more positive for us, maybe not as positive for you guys there in Bengals country is, you know, with success comes the potential of losing some of your coordinators. And Brian Callahan is a guy who has the Peyton Manning backing. He's been the offensive coordinator for a very good offense the last couple seasons. So before we get into some of the questions I have here, just what's your overall thoughts on Brian Callahan,

the job he's done as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals? Well, I mean, I've talked to Brian a bunch of times throughout his career in Cincinnati, and he's a guy that loves football more than anything else in the world. And those are the kinds of guys you want leading your football teams. He's incredibly thoughtful. I think he's great at connecting with other people. I think that when you listen to him talk, he's a good communicator. He conveys

thoughts with intelligence, with a transparency that you don't see a lot around the NFL. And I think that's something that you see sometimes with young guys around the NFL too, that they'll learn some lessons about how transparent they should or shouldn't be as head coaches. We saw that with Zach Taylor in Cincinnati, but I think he's a fantastic football mind. He's obviously got a lot of experience with some really, really high-level quarterbacks from Peyton Manning to Matthew Stafford to Joe Burrow. And I think he'd do a good job as an offensive coordinator,

wherever he goes. He's young. He comes from a football family. He's been coaching for a long time. He's been connected to a lot of really successful coaches, be it his dad or other stops around the NFL. And I have a lot of positive things to say about Brian Callahan as a person. Yeah. And before we get into, again, more of his just his type of coaching and what he's done with that Bengals offense and his part in that, you know, it's interesting to me that Brian Callahan could have gone the nepotism baby

route. You know, he could have followed his dad around for years and ridden off his dad's coattails and, and gotten higher up jobs that way. But he seems like one of those few guys with, you know, a father that's coaching in the league, a prominent father coaching in the league that he didn't really like to follow his dad's coattails, stuff like that. Do you think that kind of removes him a little bit from that,

you know, again, that nepotism type, uh, like trademark that we get for guys like that? I don't really know about all that, to be honest with you, hard to know behind the scenes, why, who gets what job. Uh, but I do know that he would like to work with his dad. So his dad being the, the offensive line coach just, I think, re-upped his deal in Cleveland. If there was any way for him to go elsewhere as an OC, I would think it would be potentially to work with his son, something the Bengals tried to do when they hired Zach Taylor,

but the then Washington football team denied permission or that lateral move interview from offensive line coach to offensive line coach denied him the chance to go work with Zach Taylor, Joe Burrow, and his son, Brian. And so I don't, I don't know too much about why he was hired when or where outside of that, you know, when I've talked to him he's always seemed incredibly bright to me and you know he's always shown the aptitude to learn and be open to new information I don't think that he's the kind of guy that's going to be like my way or the highway I think he's always open to learning new things and adapting his approach and we've seen that with some very significant changes to this Bengals offense over the last few years too yeah yeah and and talking about that Bengals offense

you know obviously it turned around when the guys like Joe Burrow came in and Jamar Chase and then T Higgins obviously exploding that offense really just took another one to just another level uh once though that talent came in but Brian Callahan's been there through it all he's been there through the lows and obviously the highs the last couple of years. What's kind of his involvement in that offense? You know, is he the primary play caller? Is it his offense or is he mostly working with Zach Taylor and Joe Burrow and them to kind of craft this offense? It's probably Joe Burrow's offense. I don't think that the Bengals offense at this point really resembles Zach Taylor's or Brian Callahan's backgrounds in their entirety. I think they've obviously taken pieces of those things and put them into the offense,

but he doesn't call the play. Zach Taylor's been the play caller since arriving, which several times has caused Bengals fans to ask for Brian Callahan to be given the shot to call plays. But Callahan's very involved, of course, with game planning as any offensive coordinator is, even when he's not calling the plays in the NFL, does a lot of work on red zone, does a lot of work on third downs for the Bengals and is generally pretty involved with the whole game plan in general he's communicating with Zach Taylor throughout the game he's communicating with Joe Burrow throughout the game and so not a play caller but that's the only piece missing for him

and obviously there's some growth required there Anytime you are calling plays for the first time, I think he has done it in his career, but hasn't done it in Cincinnati. But like I said, has a ton of major influences from, you know, working with Peyton Manning in Denver, from working with Matt Stafford, working with John Gruden and now working with Joe Burrow, a lot of exposure to a lot of different systems based on the guys that he's worked with. And where the Bengals eventually got to this year, which is a collective effort of their offensive coaching staff, is a massive offensive transformation even within the year. And I think that that adaptability that came with Brian Callahan as the offensive coordinator is noteworthy. Yeah, yeah. And that was going to kind of lead to my next question here. So it might sound a little bit repetitive, but a lot of successful offensive coordinators and just

play callers or even people involved in offense in the NFL have that kind of chameleon effect to them where they can kind of blend to whatever their star quarterback is. It doesn't have to be my way or the highway with offensive systems. And like you said, this is Joe Burrow's offense. This isn't Brian Callahan's offense. Just how much do you think that could help him in going to his next destination, especially if it's an Indy where they're going to be drafting a quarterback very high? Yeah, I think that you would want to align your quarterback at least somewhat with the kinds of stuff

that you're most familiar with and most comfortable running. I don't think Callahan comes. I mean, these guys all know everything that they run in the NFL. There's only so much that gets innovated in the NFL, only so much that gets run in the NFL. Everyone's copying everybody. And some people know the details better than others,

but Callahan doesn't have, or hasn't recently run anyway, a ton of Shanahan style staples. So if you're looking for that kind of heavy play action boot you know wide zone kind of stuff or you know the kinds of things you're seeing in miami this year the kinds of things you're seeing in san francisco every year you know i don't think callahan's necessarily the guy you want running that offense but you look at the guys that he's worked with, in particular Peyton Manning and Joe Burrow,

and Joe Burrow bringing a lot of Drew Brees Saints offense with him from LSU to Cincinnati. Those are the kinds of things that you're looking for in your quarterback, the ability to process at a high level pre-snap, know where the ball should be going, get the ball out accurately and on time. He's dealt with a very diverse running game, so I'm not sure what his preferred style would be for Jonathan Taylor and that Colts team.

But they've this year in Cincinnati done everything, and they've done it from the shotgun, which I think is really creative. They found ways to get to pretty much everything that they could want from the shotgun, which is not very easy to do, but they essentially realized, you know, a few games into 2022 that they're not a good under center team. Joe Burrow is more comfortable in the shotgun. They're not running the ball well under center. They went shotgun almost exclusively, not quite exclusively, but you know,

90, 90, 90 plus percent of the time. And they're still improving their running game, finding ways to be more efficient, finding ways to run crunch and power and counter and, and same side toss plays in addition to their, you know, zone and duo stuff, which is pretty much all they were doing before and, and started implementing more and more stuff in their running game as this year went on, which I thought was pretty impressive too.

Yeah. Jake, that's awesome to hear I love hearing just a diverse uh offensive coach and and the way they were able to kind of do that stuff there in Cincinnati and Cincinnati's been really fun to watch these last couple years on offense uh before I let you go man again I appreciate your time and just jumping in about this Brian Callahan stuff are there some staff members there on that Bengals uh coaching staff that you think he would try to take with him to a place like Indy? I know Pritchard just got that extension or whatever, so he's probably the guy who would replace Callahan.

But are there some guys there in Cincy that he would probably take with him? Yeah, Troy Walters is another name to watch. He's interviewing for the offensive coordinator position in Houston with the Mecca Ryan. So he's thought of very highly. I think he is going to rise up. He's a current wide receivers coach, but I think he does thought of very highly. I think he is going to rise up. He's a current wide receivers coach, but I think he does have a very bright future in the NFL, really smart, detail oriented guy as well. He's obviously overseeing the emergence of guys like T Higgins

and, and Jamar chase in this offense with Joe Burrow. And so that one stands out to me, but I'm not sure exactly where the connections would be for Brian Callahan, as far as guys, he would want to bring with him. You know, know he's been around in a lot of different styles you know i'm sure you've gone back and looked at all the different connections he's had and all the guys he's worked with um but you know if he were to leave there's a lot of opportunity for promotion in cincinnati too and so that is the the tricky thing there where pitcher you're right he did just get the extension he would be the heir apparent, the offensive coordinator, and then they need to find a quarterback's coach.

And if Troy Walters leaves, then there's an opportunity for someone to move into the wide receiver coach job. And so all these guys in Cincinnati, very involved with game planning in different aspects, more than just their position group. So it's hard to say who he might look to bring with him, but I think that whoever gets Brian Callahan is getting an incredible person to run their team. And I think that he has a lot of the qualities that you're looking for to be a head coach in the NFL, as long as the vision aligns. And I think

that that has been so important for the Bengals. Zach Taylor and Duke Tobin, the Bengals de facto GM, see the game the same way, essentially. And Brian Callahan and Zach Taylor and Joe Burrow in the mix, too, all see things, I think, very similarly and can communicate really at a high level about what things they want to do and how they want to take their offense. And given that experience, you could think that he could do that as long as he's aligned with Chris Ballard and the higher-ups

and whoever he brings in to run his staff. And with you know Chris Mallard and the higher ups and whoever he brings in to run his staff and you know there's probably growing pains like we saw with Zach Taylor going from a non-play calling role to head coach but you know you you have the toolkit there in Brian Callahan to get there awesome man well Jake I appreciate you jumping on good luck with this offseason and how you guys kind of rebuild. And, you know, for my selfish sake, I hope they hire Brian Callahan. But for you, if they don't hire Brian Callahan, I hope he does stick there with you guys and helps you building up what you're doing there.

But Jake Lisko, Locked On Bengals guys, make sure you're giving him a follow. He's done some great work over there all season. And Jake, again, I appreciate you for joining me. Thanks, Zach. Cool. All right, guys. So coming up, we're going to talk about this overall head coaching search and kind of how the finalist group has gotten down to,

I guess, eight members now. So we're going to talk about that here to finish up today's show. But first this year, the only app you need at your Superbowl party is FanDuel, America's number one sports book. We're really excited about our new sports betting partner for Locked On because they're the number one sports book in America. That's FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook. We're really excited about our new sports betting partner for Locked On because they're the number one sportsbook in America.

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Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sportsbook partner of the NFL. All right, guys. So again, Jake is not here. Our Jake, Jake Arthur, is not here with me today to close this show out. So I'm going to give kind of my overall perspective on these candidates, especially Brian Callahan, who we just talked about with Jake Lisko of Locked On Bengals. First of all, just very impressed by Brian Callahan. This whole process, I've kind of done that, like Jake was mentioning there.

I've gone through and I've looked at potential staff connections, history, you know, what players and other coaches had to say about a lot of these candidates for the Colts head coaching search. And Brian Callahan was the guy who stood out to me the second the Colts announced that interview. I think he's a guy who, first off, connections Indy with Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning speaks very highly of Brian Callahan. He has since his days in Denver, saying Brian Callahan is going to make a really good head coach one day. And now we're in the situation where he could be the Colts next head coach. So yeah, I think Brian Callahan is going to have that Peyton Manning backing, but also, you know, we've seen other players. We've seen other coaches.

He's worked under some really good coaches in his career. And I think there's a lot to like with Brian Callahan there and, and having a guy like Jake come on the show and talk about his relationship with Brian Callahan and how he's talked to him many times and had, you know, he's every conversation he's had with him. He's learned something new, you know, and that's something great to have out of your head coach. He's a bit of a teacher, and he's done some great things in his career, and I had to ask that question about the nepotism thing just

because, you know, we see this a lot in the NFL. We see a lot of guys kind of get jobs in the league because of who their father is or who their brother is or something like that, and sometimes it pays off. You know, Kyle Shanahan is pretty on par with Mike Shanahan in terms of coaching. Just a great coach. But also you get some other ones that definitely did not pan out. And from the looks of it, Brian Callahan has separated himself a lot from his father. He would still love to work with his father, but he's made his own career, not just kind of riding the coattails of his father,

which I think is very important for a coach, especially a coach who got into the league the way that he did. So yeah, Brian Callahan, a very interesting candidate, a candidate that I really like, who's been a part of winning culture in the past. And he's a guy who I think the Colts are going to really like as well. And speaking of the Colts and speaking of their finalist list, right before I jumped on to record this podcast, the Colts announced another finalist interview, which brings the total up to eight as Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

is coming in on Thursday today, the time you guys are listening to this. He is coming in for his final interview, his second interview, which, man, like I love. Let me just take a step back real quick and say, I appreciate Chris Ballard for being more thorough this time. I think Zach Kiefer of The Athletic has mentioned a couple times now that he's had more interviews this second time that, you know, he's had more final interviews this time around than he had total interviews the first time before he hired Josh McDaniels. So he's definitely righting the wrongs of his past and trying to avoid a Josh McDaniels situation.

But we are getting to the point where, you know, Raheem Morris is a very quality candidate. Brian Callahan's a quality candidate. Shane Steichen, quality candidates. Guys who, you know, you're going to get one of those guys if they want the job. You know, you're going to get one of them. You've had them for second interviews.

You've had them, you know, if we factor in how long their interviews have, you know, the virtual interviews have been four hours long. The ones in person have been anywhere from eight to 10 to 12 hours long. You know, you were talking to these guys for a good, again, 12 to 16 hours long. You should have a general sense of who you're going with at this point or have a general sense of how you are stacking these candidates and continually adding more finalists that are outside the bunch to this mix, I don't know how to read that. I don't know how to say, like, does this mean that Raheem Morris

and Brian Callahan and Shane Steichen are all out because they're still looking for another guy, and I guess Aaron Glenn could be available, and that's why they're going to him? Or are they just being so, so thorough that they don't want to leave any stone left unturned, even if they are leaning a guy like Morris or a guy like Callahan? I think it's a fascinating conversation and I really don't know what to make of it. I can't say one way or the other. I hope that we get a decision here coming up soon, hopefully this weekend or early next week.

But, you know, I think I was listening to Mike Chappell on his podcast the other day where he was saying, you know, if the guy is going to be Shane Steichen, they probably won't announce until after the Super Bowl, which is like, man, we are going to go on and on with this one. But, you know, at the end of the day, I'd prefer them to be more thorough. I prefer them not to go the Josh McDaniels route like they did back in 2018. But I would like to see this get trimmed down pretty soon because of the 11 candidates left

on their initial list of 14. So there were 11 left because D'Amico Ryans took a head coaching job. Dan Quinn and Brian Johnson both dropped out or Ben Johnson, excuse me, dropped out. So of those 11 guys, they brought eight back in for second interviews, eight for finalists, quote unquote, finalist interviews. So I wonder if they're going to have another round of interviews. Are they going to go to a third round where these interviews are going to go take place over 24 hours straight? I don't know. Are they just going to extend these interviews and keep making them longer and longer? Because at this point, I don't really know what else there

is to talk about with these guys. If you're going to call them back in for a third round like what have you not talked about already in the first 16 hours you know I'm sure you've already shown them the facility I'm sure that you've already introduced them to some players and talked to you know introduced to the scouting staff like I don't really know what you can do with the third round of interviews so I'm very curious to see if they go from eight candidates here on, you know, again, you guys are listening to this on Thursday.

So Thursday night, do they drop it down to one candidate and we'd hear by Friday or Saturday, or do they drop this down to four and then down to two and then down to one. And we don't hear until the end of February. I, I don't know, man, I really don't know which way this is going to go.

The Colts have been very tight lipped on this. And I think that's kind of a good thing. You know, leaks are always crazy, but man, I think I speak for all of you guys when I'm saying I would like to see this make a little more progress here soon, which maybe I'm being a bit impatient, but I just want the next head coach. I want it to be the right decision, and I appreciate how thorough it is, but I also want our next head coach. I want it to be the right decision and I appreciate how thorough it is but I also want our next head coach here in Indianapolis. So we're going to talk about a couple other things here in a minute but first Locked On is heading

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All right, guys. Well, that's all I really have for today's episode. I know it's a bit of a short one, but, you know, if you guys are listening, you have ADHD like me, I feel like we're kind of in waiting mode right now. It's kind of that ADHD waiting mode where I feel like I can't do anything else until we have this head coach things figured out. And that's all we can really talk about right now is just the potential head coaching hires and the potential that it could have on the roster. We can't really talk about anything concrete right now. So we are talking more head coaching hires probably tomorrow, maybe dip our toes into a little bit of draft talk tomorrow because we're a little bit limbo. And again, that ADHD waiting mode.

But that's all we have for today, guys. Make sure you're following Locked On Colts at JakeArthurNFL and at Zach Hicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to Locked On Colts podcast on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcasts. And thank you for making us your first listen of the day. For your next listen, check out the Locked On NFL podcast. Bring you the local insights you love to the national spotlight

with daily conversations on the On NFL podcast. Bring you the local insights you love to the national spotlight with daily conversations on the biggest NFL stories. Locked On NFL, available on YouTube wherever you get your podcasts. We'll see you guys tomorrow.