Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - Indianapolis Colts: Who Will Be the Next Defensive Coordinator?

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Indianapolis Colts have completed five interviews for their defensive coordinator position. Should they add more? 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. Thank you all for tuning in and making us your first listen of the day. This is your daily podcast covering your Indianapolis Colts, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use code all lowercase locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Hello, everyone. My name is Zach Hicks, your resident film nerd, over at HorseshoeHuddle.com. My partner in crime, as always, Jake Arthur, is our credentialed boots on the ground for the site. We're going to get more snow coming in, so I have to say boots on the ground yet again, just so I can protect your feet there, Jake. Don't you put that evil on me.

Starting point is 00:01:03 Right, right. So coming up, though up though guys we were talking all about the defensive coordinator job something that we've talked about all week but look guys we're gonna milk this as long as we can because the colts are certainly gonna milk this as long as they can so we're gonna talk about potential other names we would add to this search with you know the colts have completed five interviews should they expand that search even more we'll talk about some other names that could be added. We'll also talk about this current vibe that the Colts are portraying with this defensive coordinator search, and we'll go into more detail on that in segment

Starting point is 00:01:34 two. But to kick it off, Jake, in case any Colts fan that is listening to this episode, maybe this is your first episode you've listened to all offseason just because, you know, it was a rough season. You wanted to put your head in the sand a little bit. So we're going to talk about the five candidates in kind of brief detail. Talk about each one of them, who they are and what they would bring to the table for the Indianapolis Colts. So real quick, real quick off the bat here. The candidates are Dennis Allen, former head coach of the New Orleans Saints, former head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Been defensive coordinator for a long time as well. Lou Anarumo, former defensive coordinator

Starting point is 00:02:09 for the Cincinnati Bengals. Ephraim, I think it's Ephraim Banda, the defensive backs coach or safeties coach, excuse me, from the Cleveland Browns. Wink Martindale, the defensive coordinator from Michigan University. And Steve Wilkes, the former defensive coordinator from the San Francisco 49ers, also as interim head coach for the Carolina Panthers back in 2022. So those are the five names the Colts have completed interviews with right there. Jake, which one of these five do you want to talk about first? Well, we should zero in on the ones that are probably the most likely to happen. I think, you know, Martindale, I certainly think there's some familiarity there. The Colts interviewed him numerous times throughout the head coaching search back a couple years ago.

Starting point is 00:02:56 Steve Wilkes as well. There's been a lot of familiarity with him and Chris Ballard. He's been interviewed for the D.C. job before. So those are two guys who this is not just random. Like there are connections there. They've already kind of gone through this process before. Ephraim Banda, if it were to come down to like money and like the Colts not being like an attractive place to go. And it's a young guy,

Starting point is 00:03:25 like they have to hire a young guy who's just looking for an opportunity. Maybe that's the way. But Lou Anarumo, I think you would agree is probably, probably the leader in Shane Steichen's clubhouse, at least among guys that he's gone toe to toe with. Not that Dennis Allen isn't, well,

Starting point is 00:03:44 he probably isn't likely, but Allen just has so many stronger ties elsewhere. And he was just a head coach. So he's probably got a higher asking price. It just seems the least likely of the group to me. But Martindale or Wilks is Martindale, Wilks, and perhaps Anarumo are where I would think the most likely destinations would be. Anarumo might be a little more in demand in a couple other places. So if I had to put the most likely, I think it would probably be Martindale and Wilkes. Yeah, I think that's a good place to start.

Starting point is 00:04:19 So let's start with Steve Wilkes here. Steve Wilkes, maybe the name that's not the flashiest here in this search for Colts fans, just because he's the one with the Chris Ballard ties. You know, going back to when Chris Ballard was with the Chicago Bears, they overlap there. He's also the has ties with Shane Steichen with the Cleveland Browns. So some people might view this as like the bad side of the NFL where it's connections over quality. So that's why the Colts are bringing in Steve Wilkes. But Steve Wilkes has a pretty good history. Not a great history.

Starting point is 00:04:48 I'm not going to say it's perfect. But the last time he was a defensive coordinator was with the San Francisco 49ers. They were a top 10 defense in almost every metric. They go to the Super Bowl. They come up just short in that Super Bowl. But because of creative differences with Kyle Shanahan, he has let go at the end of the season.

Starting point is 00:05:05 And following that season, you know, going into this past year, the 49ers defense was not good. Not good. Now, they had a lot of injuries, obviously, but it did seem like replacing Wilks was a fairly short-sighted move by the 49ers. You go to the year before that, he was with the Carolina Panthers. They were in a pretty dreadful place when he had to take over as interim head coach. They finished the year six and six to have a pretty respectable end of the year. And he got some head coaching love around the league. I think he finished second or third in the Panthers head coaching search before Frank

Starting point is 00:05:40 Reich got the job. And maybe even in hindsight, they would have picked Wilks if they knew what the Reich tenure was going to be there. So Wilkes, by all accounts, leader of men, loves blitzing, which I know a lot of people are looking for. And he also brings that familiarity with not only the Colts power, but also the familiarity with the system the Colts like to run, but just a more aggressive side of that system. Going to the other guy that you think is a potential favorite, though, Jake, Wink Martindale. When we're talking about the aggressive side of a system, Wink Martindale comes from the aggressive side of every system,

Starting point is 00:06:16 has the Dean Pease ties, has the Rob Ryan ties. If you go back to his early days coaching in the NFL and everywhere he's been, he has brought pressure. He loves the Blitz and his days with the Ravens. They were up there. Forty five, forty six percent Blitz percentage like they were bringing the house. And it's a very different system than what the Colts run. But like you said, the Colts have those ties to him from the head coaching search. He made it, I think, two rounds in and was a top five choice for them for that head coaching

Starting point is 00:06:45 job came up just short goes to Michigan this past year following a kind of tough end of his tenure with the Giants they just kind of regressed and they didn't have a ton of talent on defense goes to Michigan this past season really no help from his offense at Michigan but on defense they were a top 11 defense and And he had multiple great performances from that defense against top opponents, including shutting down Ohio State, who might end up being the national champion here. Hopefully not, but might be the national champion here in a couple days. Yeah, hopefully not. But they shut them down in the final game of the season, really the only defense that shut down Ohio State. And then in the bowl game with most of his starters out, they shut down future NFL quarterback Jalen Milrow in that bowl game. So Martindale and Wilks,

Starting point is 00:07:30 they're not the flashiest names. I know people are not going to get super excited about those two compared to maybe a couple other names on this list, but they have a good recent track history and they both have things that really propel them. So if those are the two likely candidates, I can certainly see some great qualities in those two coaches right there. and they both have things that really propel them. So if those are the two likely candidates, I can certainly see some great qualities in those two coaches right there. Yeah, I think if you get Wilks, schematically and personnel-wise, you probably don't have to change too much drastically,

Starting point is 00:07:57 but this is a guy who's a leader and will hold guys accountable. And your position in the starting lineup is not gonna be purchased with your contract. Basically. I don't think there would be a big problem with guys, you know, not getting full effort and things like that. But as much as he holds guys, guys accountable, players love him as well. So they love to play for this guy. I think that would be a great fit. Martindale. One thing I like about his system,

Starting point is 00:08:28 it feels like a home for players who don't have a home. This is the defense for tweeners and guys who don't have prototypical size or attributes for one position. I believe Isaiah Simmons is where, under Martindale, finally found some footing in the NFL. And there's just been other guys who maybe were tweeners or they were in between defensive back positions or linebacker safety things like that where they they went and played for martindale and were able to kind of regain some semblance of a home in the nfl because he found a way to use these guys and the colts don't have a ton of those, but if you look at Adio Adango,

Starting point is 00:09:08 for example, that's a defensive lineman, so it's not necessarily a player who's going to be out in space. But I think Martindale would have a lot of use for a guy like Odango. Jalen Carlize, I think, is perfect for this scheme. And then you just kind of look at some other, you know, Carlize is a safety coming to linebacker, but then if you've got like a, if you look like an Amani hooker type with the Tennessee Titans, for example,

Starting point is 00:09:35 a bigger guy who can kind of play in the box, but also has attributes for safety and being able to play in coverage, I think it opens up the door a lot for the kind of players you can bring into free agency. Yeah, and then real quick on the other coaches there, Bonda seems like a very good, surprising, up-and-coming type candidate. I don't think he's going to be in line for this job. Again, I think he'd be the fifth option unless he just killed his interview. But I would be excited with him.

Starting point is 00:10:00 He's got some really cool stuff in his background. Manny Diaz's background is always really fun there. Looks like he's also interviewing for the penn state defense coordinator job which is pretty cool for him interesting um and then the other two again dennis allen lou anarumo like their resumes speak for themselves anarumo big reason why the bangles were in the super bowl a couple years ago i mean honestly the biggest reason why they were there also had a fantastic 2022 season kind of fell off these last two years with the talent departure but a very good coach and then dennis allen the the steve spagnolo of this of this uh you know defensive coordinator

Starting point is 00:10:31 search it where like yeah he's not a good head coach we know that at this point certainly not a good head coach but a darn good defensive coordinator has always been really good came into new orleans back after they fired Rob Ryan back in, I think, 2015. Inconsistently produced top-tier defenses for Sean Payton. Just unfortunately lined up when Drew Brees' career fell off. So it didn't really get them a Super Bowl. But Dennis Allen, fantastic defensive coach and would be a home run hire for the Colts if they were able to land him. But coming up, guys, we went through the candidates.

Starting point is 00:11:02 We talked about the five guys that they have currently interviewed. Now let's talk about the themes of these five interview guys. Because if I had to guess who the Colts would bring into interview prior to this process, I don't think I could have pulled these five names out of a hat just in terms of what they would bring to the table. So coming up, we're going to talk about the theme that comes with these five interviewees for defensive coordinator. It's playoff time. And if you're like us, you want to make the most of these final weeks of football action. And that's where price picks come into play.

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Starting point is 00:12:37 So here's a special offer for Locked on NFL listeners. Download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. That's PrizePix. Run your game. Again, download the app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. PrizePix. Run your game. All right, Zach. So we've seen this list of five candidates that the Colts have interviewed so far. They should pretty much all be in the bag at this point. I believe it's Dennis Allen going today, Friday. So he's the final one of these five, again, so far.

Starting point is 00:13:15 We haven't heard of the Colts putting any more names in. It won't be surprised if they draw in a couple more guys because, you know, we know how big their search for head coach was last year. But of the guys that we know how big their search for head coach was last year. But of the guys that we know of so far, they do have some common traits between them. Like you look at this list, you're like, man, I know what the Colts are kind of going for to replace the Gus Bradley era. But when you look at these guys, you could probably take Bonda out of it just because he's the outlier.

Starting point is 00:13:41 But what do you see in terms of just what the Colts are gunning for, what they hope to achieve with this new defensive coordinator? Yeah, I think it's very fascinating when you look at this defense coordinator search. And I have a theory behind it, which I'll say in a second here. But to me, they are really looking for an experienced defensive coach who wants to bring pressure, who wants to bring like whether it's diversity up front, whether it's, you know, mixing things up pre and post snap to provide a like a muddier picture to opposing quarterbacks or just straight up blitzing. Like that is what they want in their next defensive coach.

Starting point is 00:14:19 I mean, you're looking at these guys and obviously Wink Martindale and Steve Wilkes. Those are your high blitzing guys right there. Those are the guys who are going to bring it at like a 30, 35, 40% rate. I mean, heck, Wink might get up to 50% if he gets in here. And even if Dennis Allen and Lou Anarumo are a little more reserved with their blitzing, they are so pressure oriented in how they bring guys and how they mix and match stuff pre and post snap and Alan like we talked about with Joel Erickson on here earlier in the week like he has a couple

Starting point is 00:14:50 of moments a game where he's going to bring an all-out blitz and really fluster your offense like I think pressure and aggressiveness is the theme here for what the Colts are looking for a defensive coordinator and that's fascinating to me because that's very different from what Chris Ballard has ever wanted on defense. He kind of likes the static defensive approach in terms of get to your spot. Everyone knows where their spot's going to be and they come downhill and attack and force turnovers by keeping things in front of them

Starting point is 00:15:18 and being good in the ground game as well. You know, that Tampa two cover three type of system that he's been a part of his entire career. Like that's what Matt Eberflus was. That's what Gus Bradley was. So this is very, very different from what the Colts have had in the past eight years under Chris Ballard, which to me, and this is where my theory comes in. I truly think Shane Steichen is leading this search. I think this is almost entirely Shane Steichen running this search. I think Ballard's involved, obviously, because he has to be his general manager. But when I'm looking

Starting point is 00:15:50 at these defensive coaches, I think these are coaches where Shane Steichen is looking at his own deficiency in terms of my offense that I run dominates against static defenses and struggles against diverse, aggressive defenses. So I'm bringing in a bunch of defensive coaches that would give me fits as an offensive coach. So you see Louie Anarumo, who kicked his butt a couple of times in the last few times they faced. You're seeing Dennis Allen, who Shane Steichen very much respects. You're seeing Wink Martindale, who's going to be the most diverse that you'll ever see in terms of how he brings pressure.

Starting point is 00:16:24 I think these are coaches that Shane Steichen never wants to face. And I think he, he acknowledges that these are tough opponents and they're veteran guys who know what they're doing. And he wants to bring that aspect to his defense. So yeah, credit to the Colts for letting Shane Steichen run this thing. We'll see who they ultimately hire.

Starting point is 00:16:40 But to me, everything kind of points to Shane Syken running this thing and trying to grab a guy who would give him fits as an offensive coach. Yeah, when I look at the list, two things that really jump out is obviously the pressure. There's going to be blitzes or just exotic, diverse ways to bring pressure outside of just the normal four-man rush. And if it's not working with four,

Starting point is 00:17:04 you're going to try and find a way to get pressure. So I think that's definitely one way to look at it. Perhaps some window dressing to confuse offenses up front. But I really see strong leadership in this as well, especially from like Steve Wilkes and Wink Martindale. I mean, if you're watching on YouTube, look at the thumbnail. Wink Martindale is not going to take crap from watching on YouTube, look at the thumbnail. Wink Martindale is not going to take crap from anybody. He's not going to let any poor effort slide. So strong

Starting point is 00:17:30 leadership and pressure up front. But I'm also thinking in terms of player development as well. I look at all these names and I think of some guys that have really kind of come out of nowhere and made a name for themselves. You know, they were in the league for a little while and had not done anything until they got to these guys. Or they were, you know, maybe a mid-round pick and really met their potential with some of these guys. You know, Dennis Allen, I think Joel Erickson mentioned, you know, Demario Davis with you,

Starting point is 00:17:58 became an annual top five linebacker throughout the league with Dennis Allen. Lou Anarumo, I look at his linebackers like the week with Dennis Allen. Yep. Lou Anna room. Oh, I look at his linebackers like Logan Wilson and Jermaine Pratt, you know, Sam Hubbard. I was very anti Sam Hubbard coming out of the draft,

Starting point is 00:18:14 but he got something out of him. Trey Hendrickson. Trey Hendrickson, DJ reader, like DJ reader, Vaughn, Vaughn bell. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:18:21 Yeah. You know, wink Martindale again. He he's found a good way to use some guys. Steve Wilkes, I feel like he's always gotten really good cornerback play. Jason Horn loved playing Horn. Jason Horn, yeah. So there's some young guys on the Colts who, if you drop really any of these guys into there,

Starting point is 00:18:40 could have a profound impact on it. Like, you want Laiatu Latsu to get where he's going. You want Nick Cross to take another step. You know, Jalen Jones, if Juju Brents can stay healthy. Some of these guys could really benefit from the leadership and development of some of these guys. And I'm even more kind of eager to see what position coaches they would bring along because we haven't even gotten to that aspect of it yet

Starting point is 00:19:02 because it's such a huge unknown. Coordinators themselves already are a little mysterious. We don't know what position coaches they would bring. Gus Bradley's was obvious. Richard Smith and Ron Miles have gone everywhere with them. But I'm pretty eager to see what coaching staff will be filled out around them. Yeah, yeah. And it's just a really interesting defense coordinator search.

Starting point is 00:19:26 It really didn't go the way I went. I thought it would go. And especially because again, with, with the past, with Ballard, he sticks to his coaching tree and he also likes connections. Connections are a very big part of it. That's part of the NFL. The NFL is kind of like a nepotism type league in a lot of ways. There's a reason why there's 40 Kubiaks around the entire league. And there's 30 Shanahan's and all that because it's kind of who you know in this league.

Starting point is 00:19:52 And aside from Wilks, there's not many guys on this list that have a history of working with Shane Steichen or working with Chris Ballard. So credit to Steichen for the way he's run this search in that sense where he's not constraining himself to, you know, I have to have worked with this guy back in LA. I had to have worked with this guy in Philly.

Starting point is 00:20:13 You know, he has branched out and he's reached out to guys like Anna Rumo, who he's never worked with. He's reached out to Wink Martindale, who he's never worked with and was actually competing with for the head coaching job a couple of years ago in Indy. He has reached out to these guys that he doesn't really have that connection with outside of like a respect from afar. So for Shane Steichen, who I assume is running this this search pretty heavily, like on his own credit to the way he's run it. And I think these are all quality candidates here. But coming up, we're going to add to the list, baby. We're going to take over the Colts and say, hey, add these three, four, five names to the five they already have and just cast that wider net. There are still a couple of names around the league that Jake and I would love to see thrown into the mix here.

Starting point is 00:20:55 So we're going to talk about those couple of names that we would add to the mix coming up in just a second. This is a message from sponsor Intuit TurboTax. tax taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you were going to get any money back and then waiting wondering and worrying some more now taxes is matching with a turbo tech turbo tax expert who can do your taxes as soon as right now today an expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real-time updates on their progress so that you can focus on your day. An expert who will find you every deduction possible and file every form, every investment, everything with 100% accuracy. All so that you can get the most money back guaranteed.

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Starting point is 00:22:14 hoodwinked all of it. If the Colts managed to get Robert Sala here. Well, he's got like three head coaching interviews and I think he's considered like a favorite for the Jacksonville job right now. So he's not trying to be a defensive coordinator for a non-playoff team is basically what we're saying. So that, I mean, it's a great idea if he would be down for it.

Starting point is 00:22:31 I just don't think, I think the Colts are a little beneath them at the moment. So there are some other guys here though, the guy who the first name we talked about when the season ended, and I'm very surprised they haven't interviewed him to this point is Titans defensive passing coordinator and DB's coach Chris Harris young guy from from that Steve Wilkes tree has ties to Chris Ballard as well he also has interviewed with the Colts previously and so I'm surprised they haven't interviewed him again. I mean, again, they've only gone with one under the radar,

Starting point is 00:23:10 young up and comer with Ephraim Banda. So there aren't any other guys outside of that. If they were trying to cast a wide net and get some younger guys, maybe Chris Harris would have been in there. But yeah, I am surprised that he hasn't been called up to this point for an interview. Yeah. And I think Harris would fit kind of what we thought was going to happen with this defensive coordinator search. So if this search went the way we expected, like they stuck to that Tampa two Seattle cover three type of tree, then Harris certainly I think would have been in the mix here, but because they're going with veteran aggressive coaches you know i don't think harris is harris is not aggressive by any means but i think he just doesn't fit what they're

Starting point is 00:23:50 currently looking for with his defensive coordinator options so i don't think they're going to bring harris in i wouldn't shock me if they just did it just to add extra names to this list to cast that wider net because he does have that relationship with steichen and ballard but we'll see there. The one I'm shocked about right now is Jim Leonard from the Denver Broncos, passing game coordinator for the Denver Broncos. Got some defensive coordinator buzz the last offseason with the Green Bay Packers before they went with Jeff Halfley, who's been fantastic for them.

Starting point is 00:24:20 Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator and was fantastic for Wisconsin Badgers. I mean, Chris Ballard I know knows this because he's fantastic for Wisconsin Badgers. I mean, Chris Ballard, I know, knows this because he's a big Wisconsin Badgers fan. That's the place he graduated from college. I'm sure he watched a ton of Jim Leonard's defense there, and they were fantastic under him. Goes to the Broncos this past year.

Starting point is 00:24:42 Him and Vance Joseph make that unit a top three defense in the league and and was pretty much the main reason why that team was in the playoffs this year was because that defense was so stout um i would be shocked that the colts don't add him to the list this next week unless they completely fell in love with one of these other five guys that they've already interviewed i do think leonard would be added if they were to expand their search leonard just makes too much sense a very very diverse coach very aggressive coach, very aggressive coach as well, and has a history of success. He might be a little bit too young for what they're looking for, but because they also interviewed Banda, I think Leonard would fall into this list

Starting point is 00:25:15 pretty well. So if they expand their search past these five guys, the sixth guy who I think they would add would be Leonard. Yeah, I think what this tells me so far, like, I don't want to say they're done interviewing guys. But what this tells me so far is that they don't have time to wait and see what a guy is going to offer. They need a proven veteran defensive coordinator who's been there and done that. Yeah, I mean, again, band is kind of the outlier. Maybe they wanted to throw one young up and comer into the mix. But the fact that everybody else has been a long-standing NFL coach and has coordinator experience kind of tells me that's what they're shooting for. Also, with the five guys I've interviewed outside –

Starting point is 00:25:55 actually, Banda's interviewing with Penn State defense coordinator. So technically, all five guys I've interviewed have had interviews with other places so far. So this might be these first five guys, like we have to get these going right now and feel them out. And if we're going to make an offer, we have to make the offer quick on these five because these five are going to be in demand elsewhere

Starting point is 00:26:15 where maybe a Jim Leonard isn't as much in demand because he's so young, because he's on a team that was in the playoffs. And, you know, there's other, so it might be just a simple fact of the matter where it's like look we have to get interviews in with alan and ana rumo right now because if we don't we'll never get an interview with those guys and we need to at least hear what what they offer so i think that might play into it i think we could see the search expand this

Starting point is 00:26:39 week but that's again if they didn't fall in love with someone or if it's just kind of like a waiting game on some of these but um yeah i do think a big part of it with those first five was these guys are going to get offers from someone else we at least need to talk to them before that and one more guy who fits into this he literally blends directly into the other veteran coaches mike Mike Zimmer from the Cowboys. Now, Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys have divorced, and that means normally that the rest of the staff is going to be up for grabs. I mean, normal teams allow the coordinators and assistants to do that, but it's Jerry Jones, so we don't know.

Starting point is 00:27:19 But, yeah, Mike Zimmer is perhaps up for the poaching as well. That's another guy who runs a four-man front, is very good at getting the most out of his defenses, and I'd be down for that one too. I would not hate that one bit. Yeah, Zimmer fits kind of everybody else they've had in this search in terms of the veteran defensive coach that has a history of success. I mean, Zimmer has been a very successful defensive coach

Starting point is 00:27:43 everywhere he's been. Even if you look at the Cowboys this past season, they weren't fantastic, but late in the season when they got adjusted to his system, even though they were dealing with a lot of injuries, they were a pretty formidable unit and gave some fits to some good offenses down the stretch. So yeah, I think Zimmer, if there was a way to get him in here again, you never know what the Cowboys, they might decline anyone else interviewing him like they did with mccarthy before they fired him um you know we'll see if they do something like that really hardness i guess from from the cowboys uh but he could certainly be an option some other names i want to throw at you guys though just because these are

Starting point is 00:28:18 guys that i personally like i don't know if the colts would uh be super high on them but i did want to get them out here uh dashhea Townsend from the Detroit Lions. Again, more of a young up-and-comer type guy, but passing game coordinator for the Lions, who's done some great things under Aaron Glenn this past year. I'd be a really big fan of bringing him in. Anthony Campanile has history of success everywhere he's been, with the Boston College, with Miami,

Starting point is 00:28:43 and this year with the Packers under Halfley, has done some really good things with them. You want to go more veteran coaches. I mean, I think he gets kind of a bad rep because he wasn't a good interim head coach, but Jeff Ulbrich from the Jets, if you want to go back to more of that. Look at those Jets defenses. They were good. He's a good coach. He's a good coach. I don't think he's as bad. Because I know their defense fell off after Salah left, but he wasn't the defensive coach anymore. He was the whole team coach.

Starting point is 00:29:14 He also got thrown in right in the middle of it. It's not like he had time to prepare to be the head coach. Right. It's a tough situation. I think he can still be a quality defensive coach, and I'm not out on him by any means. I think he'd be an interesting one to bring in if he's a tough situation. I think he can still be a quality defensive coach, and I'm not out on him by any means. I think he'd be an interesting one to bring in if he's interested in coaching after this next season. And then Aubrey Pleasant from the Rams as well, by all accounts, a very good leader.

Starting point is 00:29:35 Young guy, though, so again, maybe doesn't fit what they're looking for. But Aubrey Pleasant, young assistant head, associate head coach, I think, for the Rams as well. He's coached preseason games I remember McVay saying that so um leadership type guy that players love I think Pleasant would be an interesting name there too so you guys let us know in the comment section who you like for this defensive I do have one more to add actually oh sorry sorry Jake has one more to ask he doesn't even want to wait for the comment section let's throw it on I don't know I don't want to be usurped on this.

Starting point is 00:30:05 So another young guy who goes right along with Jim Leonard, Chris Harris, and then who I was intrigued by was Al Harris, you know, a DB coach from the Cowboys. Someone who's gotten a ton of buzz in recent years, hasn't become a defensive coordinator, but my God, look at the development of those Cowboys defensive backs. Like he has maximized those dudes. Deron Bland, Trevon Diggs, Malik Hooker had some big plays.

Starting point is 00:30:32 Curse, forget his first name, but like they've gotten so much out of those Cowboys defensive backs with Al Harris. Like maybe he doesn't interview well or what, but that's an intriguing guy. Yeah. So we could see the Colts expand this, this net this next week. But again, if they fall in love with one of these five, I wouldn't be shocked to see a higher as early as next week just to get

Starting point is 00:30:56 their guy in the door. Jake, before we get out of here, just because it could happen this weekend or it could happen early next week. Do you have a prediction? Do you think they fell in love with one of these five guys? Or do you just want to hedge your bets a little bit on that? God, I don't know.

Starting point is 00:31:11 So I said in my eyes Wilks or Martindale are the most likely. I think, gun to my head, I feel best about Wilks. I need to hear more. I need more ears to the ground but i just think wilks might be the best choice for them right now yeah perhaps i could see it i could see it i could see any of these five guys for me i'm gonna take a guess and say lou anarumo will be the colts defensive coordinator by monday is my guess i think they're gonna move quick here after talking to everyone.

Starting point is 00:31:47 Maybe they make an offer to Allen and Allen just wants to wait. And then they go to Anna Rumo. But I think if Shane Steigen is truly running this thing, I think Anna Rumo is the type of guy he would want just because that's the biggest pain in his butt. He gets him away from other teams and brings them into the Indianapolis. Comment section who you would hire and who you would add to the cycle. If you wanted to add anyone, let us know in the comment section who you would hire and who you would add to the cycle. If you wanted to add anyone, let us know in the comment section below. And thank you guys for making Locked On Culture your first listen today

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