About an hour before Shane Steichen was introduced as the Colts’ new head coach at a press conference on Tuesday, the former Eagles offensive coordinator found some time to sneak away and re-watch part of the Super Bowl.
Steichen said he watched the first quarter, “just to look at it. Just to be in that moment and know how hard it is to get there.”
In his final day as the Eagles’ OC, Steichen called an impressive offensive game but the Eagles still lost 38-35 to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The Eagles will miss Steichen, who spent two years under Nick Sirianni as the team’s offensive coordinator and left the same day as defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who took the head coaching job in Arizona.
Steichen, 37, was emotional during his introductory press conference in Indy on Tuesday. Among the many people he thanked, he spent some time talking about Sirianni, their working relationship and their friendship.
And Steichen highlighted one key element of Sirianni’s coaching style that he clearly wants to take with him to Indianapolis, where Sirianni was once the offensive coordinator.
“Nick did an unbelievable job of holding guys accountable,” Steichen said. “And I know the players that were here with him, I know they saw that. He carried that over to Philadelphia and he never let anything slide. I think as a head football coach, you gotta hold people accountable. If something ain’t right, something needs to be said. It’s player to player, coach to coach, coach to player. We gotta make sure we’re all on the same page and he did a hell of a job doing that.”
NFL
Steichen thanked Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, his staff, Nick Sirianni and individual players from his time in Philadelphia.
The players he named in order were A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Zach Pascal, Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra, Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Kenny Gainwell, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Lane Johnson, Ian Book, Gardner Minshew and Jalen Hurts.
“Thank you to each and every one of you guys,” Steichen said. “I would not be sitting here today if it was not for you. It’s all about the players and it will always be about the players. And I will be forever grateful to you guys and I wish you guys all the best going forward.”
Back in Philly, the Eagles are expected to promote QBs coach Brian Johnson to replace Steichen. Big shoes to fill.
Subscribe to the Eagle Eye podcast
Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | Watch on YouTube