Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - The Indianapolis Colts' Next Head Coach Will Be... & Other Bold Predictions

Starting point is 00:00:00 The head coaching train for the Indianapolis Colts might finally start picking up some steam here in the coming days. Let's get to it. You are Locked On Colts, your daily Indianapolis Colts podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network 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 show is brought to you by Nissan. The only thing more exciting than the big game is the all-new,

Starting point is 00:00:52 all-electric 2023 Nissan Ariya. There's only five days left until the Super Bowl. You guys ready? The Nissan Ariya, the EV for the people who love to drive. Learn more at NissanUSA.com. I'm Jake Arthur, solo today. You know my partner Zach Hicks and me from horseshoehuddle.com. Today, while we don't quite yet know who the Colts next head coach is going to be, we got some kind of interesting tidbits that have been sprinkled out here as of Monday afternoon. And so we're going to bring some of the latest on that

Starting point is 00:01:26 for you. Some of the things that we have heard, Zach's obviously not here today, but him and I have talked, we've kind of compared notes coming into the show. Plus we'll give you our boldest predictions of the Colts off season after that. So first off, one of the most polarizing things of the Colts off season so far has been jeff saturday is he going to be retained as the head coach or not and it's starting to look less likely for him you know some of his guys he's plugged in with in the national media lately have said you know he's still got a good chance although if you've listened to any of us here in the local market uh it is not sounded good.

Starting point is 00:02:06 Ian Rappaport came on the Pat McAfee show today and said it looks like the Colts are leaning against that. And JMV on Monday's show, I guess he had Zach Kiefer on. And I've not heard it yet, but I've seen it a few places so far. I guess JMV said that he heard that Jeff Saturday was told a couple weeks ago that he's not going to be the head coach, and JMV's very plugged in. I trust his sources as well. So it's, again, the national stuff is starting to echo what we've said here in the local market. It does not look great for Jeff Saturday so far. Now, some of the guys who do really seem like really strong candidates, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, also Raheem Morris, the defensive coordinator

Starting point is 00:02:53 from the Rams. For my money, it seems like those are the two most likely candidates. We haven't heard much about what went down with Shane Steichen in his second interview over the weekend. He obviously is gearing up for the Super Bowl, so he's kind of got bigger fish to fry at the moment. Obviously, if the search continues to go throughout this week and we haven't heard much, I think there'll probably be a good indicator that Steichen is a little more involved than we know at this time. Ejiro Evro was one of their finalists, the defensive coordinator from the Broncos. He actually is going to go join former Colts head coach,

Starting point is 00:03:30 Frank Reich in Carolina as the defensive coordinator. So he is obviously off the list, obviously off the list for defensive coordinator as well, because there was an outside possibility, you know, for how he Morris got the job, him and Evro worked together with the Rams in 2021 when they won the Super Bowl. So that would make sense for Evero to come on as his defensive coordinator. So that will not be happening.

Starting point is 00:03:54 But as for defensive coordinator for the Colts, Gus Bradley might just hold on to that. Kiefer, when he was on with JMV, apparently said that at least four of these head coaching finalists would like to keep Bradley on as the defensive coordinator. And, you know, there was also a report from Albert Breer on the Monday morning quarterback that said the Colts have blocked Bradley from, you know, from interviewing elsewhere. From a source, what I was told, you know, they're not going to, you know, have lateral moves done, but they wouldn't block him if it was like a head coaching interview, for example. So it's really a good thing for the Colts that they want to hold on to him. You know, if a new head coach comes in and says, you know, I want my own guy, okay. But they want to retain Gus Bradley, so at least that head coach can make the choice. I think the Colts would like to keep him. I think from the front office and other people in there,

Starting point is 00:04:56 I think Gus Bradley is who people would prefer to remain the defensive coordinator there in Indy. There's a lot more ramifications that go into that as well. I'll discuss that later with the bold predictions part. So Zach had also thrown out there on Twitter, speaking of other Colts assistant coaches, Bubba Ventrone, he said he wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the assistant head coach next year. So that's good because Bubba also interviewed for the head coaching job for the Colts.

Starting point is 00:05:28 So for him to remain on as the special teams coordinator, that is excellent news. If that does happen, he's got a bright future ahead. Wouldn't be shocked if he does become a head coach somewhere sometime. Scotty Montgomery, Colts running back coach. I think we're all pretty confident the offensive staff was probably going to be gutted but Scotty Montgomery he has joined the Lions he's going to be their assistant head coach and running backs coach replacing Deuce Daly I really like that move actually he seems like a Dan Campbell kind of guy I've watched him a lot out there at practice especially training camp you get a good two-hour look at him.

Starting point is 00:06:06 I think that's going to go really well. I think DeAndre Swift and Jamal Williams will benefit from not much of a drop-off, hopefully, from Deuce Daly to Scotty Montgomery. All right, so we will move on here in a moment. I'm going to talk about our Colts' bold offseason predictions. But first, a word from our friends at prize picks, which is daily fantasy made fun and easy. Just pick two to six players.

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Starting point is 00:07:47 All of those types of guys have been in their finalist pool. They also have a quarterback to figure out as well. I think we're all on board with thinking Matt Ryan is probably not going to be back. We've got the number four pick. Lots of chatter about them trading up to number one overall with the Chicago Bears. There's obviously plenty of ties there. Matt Eberflus just being the tip of the iceberg. So I'm going to go ahead and start. This was one of mine. I'm going to say that an important starter for the Colts will be traded this year.

Starting point is 00:08:16 And keep in mind, these are just like Zach says, a lot of this is based on vibes. This is not anything I've been told or anything, but I'll explain here. So I think an important starter will be traded for the Colts. Wouldn't be out of character for them lately. You know, they sent Rocky Sinaway in the Yannick and Gawkway deal. They've traded guys in the past. They've also acquired guys, you know, DeForest Buckner. So they're not afraid to move players.

Starting point is 00:08:43 It's more often a player they're acquiring for a late round pick or vice versa. But I'm going to say that an important starter gets moved this year. You've got your blue chip options like Jonathan Taylor and Michael Pittman. I wrote about the Taylor possibility the other day and Drake Wally over at Horseshoe Huddle, he wrote about Michael Pittman on Monday. So if you haven't checked either of those out yet, there's a little more added context for that. Basically, both players are coming up on a contract year

Starting point is 00:09:13 and are expected to be paid handsomely. As for Taylor, he plays a position that, you know, it's more of a final piece to the puzzle to to make the super bowl it's not the piece running backs have just kind of proven that you know it's hard to win a championship based solely around your running back and then as for michael pittman wide receivers are getting paid stupid money lately and a lot of them are worth it but you may be looking at a 20 million dollar deal per year for michael pittmanman coming in next year if you were to sign him. So that one could be pretty steep.

Starting point is 00:09:51 And if you want to move up with the Bears, for example, they need receiver help always. They may be really intrigued by Pittman. Some of the more, I guess, realistic guys, not necessarily blue chip but still important nonetheless mo alley cox uh he's kind of he's definitely been surpassed in the passing game by jelani woods and kylan granson plus drew ogletree looked awesome in training camp last year before he tore his acl uh so mo is making a good chunk of change maybe he can go somewhere else and be asked to receive more than block and then you know he's obviously got a lot of attributes that another team would be interested in a center, Ryan Kelly, again,

Starting point is 00:10:30 one of the highest paid centers in the league, but has maybe taken a dip in production. If you want to put Danny Pinter out there, for example, he's always looked good when he's filled in at center for Kelly. That's a possibility. And then Kenny Moore, you know, I was, I talked to him after the season in the locker room. He really enjoyed his time with Matt Eberflus in Chicago. So that's another possibility of a trade package. If he wants to go play in Chicago, if they want nickel help or shoot, he could play outside as well. He's one of those guys that never leaves the field when he's healthy. So Kenny Moore going to Chicago would make a lot of sense or just anywhere that's willing to run more

Starting point is 00:11:11 of the cover two type stuff with more of a nickel corner that can just play freely and maybe not have as many mental responsibilities as he probably does in this new scheme with Bradley. And then, so up next, we have talked a lot about linebacker play and the contract of Shaquille Leonard and so on. I'm going to say that the Colts re-signed both Bobby Okereke and EJ Speed this year. So the issue basically, Shaq Leonard makes $19.7 million per year. So that's a lot of money to tie up into linebackers if you're going to give Okereke and Speed new money. But it is just like Chris Ballard to reward his players that have performed at a high level, especially if he's drafted and they've developed them well. EJ Speed was a complete no-name player coming out of Tarleton State, and he's become a really good linebacker

Starting point is 00:12:10 and really one of the true elite run-stopping linebackers in the NFL. And then Bobby Okereke, just, you know, he's coming off 150 tackle season. He's gotten better each year. When I talked with him after the year, he said that the coaching staff at whatever team he's looking at will be a big factor. And he mentioned how much he really appreciated the tutelage of Rick Smith, the Colts linebackers coach. So if Gus Bradley and his staff are retained, that's going to be a big pull for Bobby Okereke to come back. For Okereke, you're probably looking at $12 million or more per year. EJ Speed could probably get a skosh more than what Zaire Franklin got last year. Probably looking at $4 to $5 million on that one.

Starting point is 00:12:56 He's a core special teamer and has gotten better defensively as well. I think a lot of this is also, you have to have insurance for the uncertainty of Shaq Leonard's future. You know, he's, he's been hurt for a while now. Last year was the first year he finally really wasn't able to play through it and things do sound better. You know, he sounded really optimistic after the season, but it's, it's tough to kind of put all your eggs in that basket of someone who you're not sure what they're going to look like when they come back to play. So it's going to cost a lot of money at one non-premium position. But I'm going to say the Colts re-sign Okereke and Speed this offseason in free agency.

Starting point is 00:13:40 And then next up, I'm going to feel comfortable speaking for Zach on this one. I think Locked on Colts is about to put our official stamp on who we think the head coach will be. We're going with Brian Callahan, the Bengals offensive coordinator. He's a finalist. He's interviewed twice. It's gone really well. He's got all the right ties. You know, he's a coach's son.

Starting point is 00:14:06 Bill Callahan, very successful offensive line coach and offensive coordinator in the NFL. Bill Callahan was at Wisconsin when Chris Ballard was a player there. Brian Callahan has the stamp of approval from Peyton Manning. And, you know, if Jim Irsay was enamored with Jeff Saturday, then, you know, the Trump card for that is the, the seal of approval from Peyton Manning. So, uh, Brian Callahan has all the right ties. I think I even saw someone said that Chris Ballard and, and, uh, Brian Callahan share the same agent. So that's, that's not a bad connection either. So

Starting point is 00:14:42 I'm comfortable saying that when I think I've thought this whole time, it would behoove the Colts to go for a younger offensive minded person. It's just, it makes all the sense in the world. And, you know, you're giving them a new quarterback, someone he can, he can choose, you know, the Colts clearly have shown they'll let the head coach really sway who is the quarterback. We've seen that with Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz. We've seen it all. So we're going to say Brian Callahan.

Starting point is 00:15:12 It just makes too much sense. We'll talk about that more, maybe more this week if he's actually named the head coach. And then my last one, this was actually Zach. He said his bold prediction, the Colts will trade up to number one with the Bears for C.J. Stroud. We've talked a lot about Stroud. We've talked about trading as well. So Matt Eberflus obviously was the Colts' former defensive coordinator. There's strong ties there.

Starting point is 00:15:39 Chris Ballard knows Ryan Poles as well. That's the Bears' GM. Man, the Bears have a lot that the Colts could want a lot of what the Colts have, whether that's shoot DeForest Buckner, Shaquille Leonard. That'd be a couple of expensive guys they might want to trade for. Kenny Moore as well. They'll probably need to give him a new deal. I think he's got one or two years left. Michael Pittman. There's just so much that the Bears might want from the Colts. If the Colts have to cough up their first and second rounders this year, and then a second

Starting point is 00:16:13 or third next year, dependent on if they throw a player in there, that's a very realistic, very doable trade. And as for CJ Stroud being that quarterback, we think the Colts really are going to have probably Stroud at the top of their list by the time the draft gets here. And then Will Levis as the second guy, probably. Just the size, the special arm talent involved. CJ Stroud is deadly accurate. Again, he's got size. He's a younger Matt Ryan when you look at it. He's also been compared to Jared Goff coming out. Now, that's something to snicker at now from some people, but Jared Goff was a really good prospect when he came out,

Starting point is 00:16:57 and the potential was still there. So CJ Stroud, that makes a lot of sense. Will Levis has that good arm talent. He's been pretty mobile throughout his career. Bryce Young, I don't know. We, we, we still just are not really sold on the size thing. If he was a couple in like two, three inches taller and 15, 20 pounds heavier than there's probably no debate. Like he already is the best quarterback in this draft, but do you want to hedge your bets on a guy who could get hurt if you feel he's undersized? So that's a real tough one there.

Starting point is 00:17:33 So those are our bold predictions in the comments. We would love to hear you guys as well. I'll pin a little comment in here asking for your guys' bold predictions as well, but definitely shoot those to us. We're going to wrap up here in a second, but let me tell you about our pals over at Bilt Bar first. If you're looking for a delicious treat, but don't want all the fat and the calories, then you've got to try a Bilt Bar. We're through the holidays now, and I know my goal all the time is to eat a little healthier

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Starting point is 00:18:48 Just swing by Walmart or Sam's club to get a box today. All right, friends, that is it for us. We'll be back tomorrow. I think we're finally getting closer to a head coaching resolution. As I said, I really want to hear Zach's information on the latest that he's heard that he can share with you guys.

Starting point is 00:19:02 So yeah, hopefully we'll have more for you guys coming up soon. Follow at LockedOnColts, at JakeArthurNFL, and at ZachHicks2 on Twitter. Also subscribe to the LockedOnColts on YouTube and wherever you listen to podcasts. We would love your ratings and reviews as well. It's how we shoot up those charts and get more eyes and ears on us. Thank you guys again for making us your first listen. Next, subscribe to the Locked on NFL podcast and get daily conversations on the biggest NFL stories,

Starting point is 00:19:32 plus in-depth analysis on the biggest games with NFL key predictions every Friday. And on Mondays, local insiders cover the weekend with game-to-game episodes. Locked on NFL, available on YouTube and wherever you get podcasts. We'll see you guys tomorrow.

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Locked On Colts - Daily Podcast On The Indianapolis Colts - The Indianapolis Colts' Next Head Coach Will Be... & Other Bold Predictions

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