The Josh Innes Show - Coach Tells Reporters Why Anthony Richardson Isn't Starting

Episode Date: August 21, 2025

The Colts QB coach has explained to the media why internet darling Anthony Richardson is not the teams starter. It's wild to me that this continues to be such a big story. I guess it's polarizing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jilly was reading me a story. Well, it's funny that I say it that way because it makes it sound like I'm a dipshit that can't read for myself. I don't know how to read. But Jilly was telling me that RG3, who I think is a dipshit. But RG3 was talking about how the benching of Anthony Richardson, which I don't even know if I'd call it a benching of Anthony Richardson because Anthony Richardson just didn't win the starting job.

But Anthony Richardson not being the quarterback for the Colts is a sign that they are tanking for Arch Manning. was his, I guess, his viewpoint, I guess. Which is a dumb take on many levels, but it's funny that, like, we assume that Anthony Richardson is good, therefore that not playing him makes the team worse when there is no real evidence to show that the team is any better when he does play. That's what I find interesting. Like this, Anthony Richardson has been elevated to the status of, like, elite player who's

being mistreated. And in reality, he's just a guy who's not very fucking good. and maybe he will be, but he ain't. Currently, he ain't. Let's play a couple commercials we get into that. TD Bank knows that running a small business is a journey, from startup to growing and managing your business. That's why they have a dedicated small business advice hub on their website

to provide tips and insights on business banking to entrepreneurs. No matter the stage of business you're in, visit TD.com slash small business advice to find out. more or to match with a TD small business banking account manager. So I bring up Anthony Richardson again because the Colts quarterback coach has gone into more detail on why Anthony Richardson got benched. Now, if you're an Anthony Richardson truther or you're someone who's just a race baiter who wants to tell the world that you believe he got benched because he's black, then you're not going to care what this guy has to say.

You have no interest in what the quarterback coach Cameron Turner of the Colts has to say. But let's go into detail on this. Let's read what he has to say. This is Cameron Turner, the Colts quarterback coach, was asked whether the coaching staff failed Richardson or vice versa. Quote, I feel like I've tried everything I can do and I feel like he's giving great effort in that aspect too. I don't think either way, one or the other. I just think right now the consistency is not where we wanted it to be. Turner's comments at a bit more context surrounding head coach Shane Steichen's explanation regarding the benching.

Stuyken referenced Jones' 2022 season with the Giants, which resulted in a wildcard playoff victory over the Minnesota Vikings. I totally forgot that happened as a reason the passer has showcased enough talent to warrant another shot at a starting gig. And I'm not against that either. Like it's easy to sit back and make fun of Daniel Jones, who probably sucks. But it's funny, like the same reason people are looking at Anthony Richardson and saying, this guy doesn't have a fair shot, he's got bad coaching, whatever. No one uses that same rationale for Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones just sucked, right?

Like, that's how we view Daniel Jones because he played in New York and whatever, and he's a white guy. So we can just throw a blanket over the white guy and play New York, high draft pick white guy, New York, and we can throw the blanket over him, and we can say, well, he just sucks. There's no, like, gray area. There's no caveat. It's just he sucks.

That's how we feel about Daniel Jones. And Anthony Richardson, it's, well, the coaching staff failed him and, well, this offensive coordinator here, well, this quarterback coach here, oh, we need to get him out of here and get him somewhere else. And you can tell me I'm wrong, but you would be wrong. It's obvious. Like the way the internet, the way people break this shit down is we look at a guy like Daniel Jones, we look at a guy who we brought up yesterday like Baker, and we just

easily write them off when like Baker Mayfield's had like 10 offensive coordinators. But we write people like that off initially and just say, oh, they suck. And then a guy like Anthony Richardson is somehow getting mistreated. Why is that? Connect the dots. Internet. Figure it out. But if you're someone who's a truther and you're someone who believes that Anthony Richardson has been treated poorly and hasn't been given a fair shot, then you don't care what the quarterback coach has to say. Let me read that quote again and kind of break it down.

I feel like I've tried everything I can do and I feel like he's giving great effort. Now, the question, again, was whether the coaching staff failed Richardson or vice versa. So he's got to defend himself to a degree. Like, the question actually puts him in a really weird spot. And the question puts him in a really weird spot because, like, you don't want to rip yourself. Like, you don't want to come out and say, let me say something. We have fucked this kid three ways from Wednesday. Part of that gives extra leverage to the quarterback and his agent as well.

Like, I don't know what they could do with that leverage, but it would give them some form of leverage or at least some sort of leg up in any sort of kind of talk about this, which is, see, even the coach says they failed him. Of course he's not going to say he failed him. And you know why he's not going to say he failed him? He doesn't believe he failed him. And why doesn't he believe he failed him? Because he thinks Anthony Richardson actually just sucks.

That's not to say that the quarterback coach of the Colts is some sort of great quarterback mind or guru or a quarterback whisper. But what's he going to say? That's a good question, actually, because you've put him on the sports, and kind of forced him to answer it, right? Like, it was one thing to say, hey, what do you think's wrong with Anthony and why is he not? Why did he lose the job?

And that could be an answer. Well, you know, Daniel has gone back and he's done blah, blah, blah. At least put it on himself. Like, how much of the blame do you put on yourself for Anthony Richardson not being there, right? Which is also kind of a weird question only because, again, people treat this Anthony Richardson with kid gloves. They handle him with kid gloves and they treat him like a child in the way they talk about him. Like sometimes quarterbacks that get drafted really high just suck.

It happens. Sometimes they suck and then get another opportunity somewhere and kind of learn from previous mistakes and they thrive. Those are things that happen. But in this instance, right now they're trying to win football games. Cameron Turner wants to keep his job. Shane Steichen wants to keep his job. They think Daniel Jones gives them the opportunity to do that.

So look, I think Daniel Jones sucks. but what do I know? Jones hasn't had the same success since that playoff victory, throwing 10 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in the two seasons, which is 16 games, resulting in his 2024 release from the New York Giants and later signing with the Vikings. I had also forgotten that happen.

Richardson's road with the Colts has been winding. The 2023 number four overall pick has shown flashes on the field, but has also been the subject of various criticisms, including from teammates off of it. Jones signed a one-year $14 million contract with the Colts. And that was one that should have been the sign that more than likely they don't believe in Anthony Richardson when they gave $14 million to their backup quarterback, a one-year $14 million deal, not a two-year-year-14. They're paying the guy $14 million, and they're paying him $14 million because they had all the belief

that they were eventually going to give the starting job to Daniel Jones. That number potentially indicated a quarterback competition with Richardson for any starting job. Yes, it did USA Today's story. Yes, it did. So I like that the story says that there was more light shed on the issues, and really, it's just one quote from the quarterback coach, quote, I feel like I've tried everything I can do, and I feel like he's giving great effort in that aspect, too. I don't think it's one or the other. I just think right now the consistency is not where we wanted it to be. I guess that's the problem I have with dipshits that get on the Internet and believe that everything revolves around race.

is that these people, this might be the only opportunity these guys have to have the jobs they have. This might be the only opportunity Shane Steichen has to be a head coach. This might be the last opportunity that Cameron Turner has to be a quarterback coach. Like Cameron Turner, and I don't know his backstory, maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't, but I don't know Cameron Turner's backstory. But I feel like he could be viewing this, like he probably should. Everybody should view it this way, that this might be your last rodeo. This might be your last chance to prove something.

So nobody's going into a situation saying, well, we're going to not give this guy every opportunity because he's black. Like this isn't 1938. This isn't the Jim Crow South. These are people trying to keep their jobs. Their decisions are based no way in the color of someone's skin. Their decisions are based on what gives me the best opportunity to win a football game today to keep my job. That is why Russ Wilson is the quarterback currently of the. the Giants because Brian Dable has his job on the line and he doesn't want like this,

this make it or break it season, which may be a break it anyway. I don't even know that he's going to keep his job no matter what they do. I don't think there's any way they can win enough for Brian Dable to keep his job and he should have probably been gone last year. Really, it was almost unfair to the guy to keep him around another year because this is just, it's as lame duck as a non-lame duck situation can be because I don't know what the Giants can do. short of, I guess, if Jackson Dart is a rock star and they only win seven games but Dart really likes the coach, maybe.

But it just feels like a lame duck situation for a non-lame duck coach, technically lame duck coach. But they're trying to win. That's why Russ Wilson, the guy who's got the most success and the most experience in the NFL is the starting quarterback and not the rookie or James Winston. They're trying to win football games right now. They have to keep their jobs right now because it's win or go home. It's shit or get off the pot. This is the last opportunity. So what do you do?

You take the guy that gives you the best shot. That's why Joe Flacco is the starting quarterback currently in Cleveland. Guys want to keep their jobs. It would be sexy to start Shadur, assuming he's healthy. They'd be sexy as hell. Like, oh my God, Shadur, Sanders is the start. Wow, wow, this is good shit. It'd be wonderful.

It'd be a story every week. But you're trying to win football games, and that's why. Joe Flacco, which was wild. Joe Flacco's career arc is interesting, too. Because nobody really viewed Joe Flacco as some sort of rock star in Baltimore. Like, yes, he won a Super Bowl. I get that. But nobody really ever viewed Joe Flacco as one of the elites in the NFL, right? Like, he was just part of a really good team, and he was solid, and he won a Super Bowl.

But he was never Tom Brady or Drew Brees or somebody like that, right? but now this guy who nobody ever really viewed as a star is still hanging around and still slinging it and just ends up in places where he ends up being the starter it's fascinating I'm fascinated by the career arc and how things have gone for Joe Flacko but yeah the Anthony Richardson thing gets tiresome because the obvious things that work their way into the discussion which the obvious one is obvious but it just gets tiresome like maybe he's just not good That's the thing that bothers me about people that live in this world of Anthony Richardson should be playing. And if not, it's racist.

It's terrible. These coaches are terrible. What would you do? If you're at practice every day, which 99.9% of the people that talk about this situation are not. And you don't see the guy thrown. You don't know what he does. But what would you do if your job was on the line and you truly believe that somebody else was better? like what move are you making there friend i feel like you'd make the move that you think gives you

the best chance of keeping your job if i had to guess all right more to come