Colts Ask Steichen to be Their Valentine, Panthers Hire Caldwell, Ravens Hire Monken, and Other NFL Bullets

I’m a super nervous dad today. My daughter went to school with a rose for her hopeful Valentine-to-be, and I hope I don’t have to console a heartbroken daughter at 3:15 today. Despite speculation that Jim Irsay would get his way and hire Jeff Saturday to be the head coach in Indianapolis, the Colts went in another direction. They asked Eagles’ OC Shane Steichen to be their Valentine, and he accepted.

  • Steichen, 37, was announced as the next head coach of the Colts this morning. There’s a crazy six-degrees-of-separation thing in this hire.
  • In 2018 when Josh McDaniels backed out on Indianapolis, the Colts hired Frank Reich. Reich was the Eagles’ offensive coordinator who was fresh off helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII. Three years later, the Eagles hired Nick Sirianni, Reich’s offensive coordinator in Indianapolis, for three seasons. Now, Indianapolis is hiring Steichen, who helped lead the Eagles to the Super Bowl this season as Sirianni’s offensive coordinator.
  • However Colts GM Chris Ballard got Jim Irsay to pivot away from Jeff Saturday; he should be commended. Steichen replaces interim coach Jeff Saturday, who was hired after Indianapolis fired Frank Reich following a 3-5-1 start to the 2022 season. Saturday went 1-7 with a seven-game losing streak to end the year.
  • More on the Steichen hire in Indianapolis:
  • The Panthers hired veteran NFL coach Jim Caldwell on Tuesday. Caldwell was one of nine coaches to interview for the Panthers’ head coaching opening. He’s the second from that group to join Reich’s staff (along with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero).
  • Caldwell will report directly to Frank Reich and assists with all three phases. Reich and Caldwell’s relationship dates back to 2006, when Caldwell was an assistant under Tony Dungy. That season Reich served as a coaching intern. Reich and Caldwell won a Super Bowl together (against the Bears) that season. When Jim Caldwell took over for Dungy, Reich was promoted to quarterbacks coach.
  • Caldwell also served as head coach of the Lions, with a 62-50 record in seven seasons. He went to the playoffs four times (taking the Colts to the Super Bowl) and had five winning seasons. One of his two losing seasons came in the post-Peyton Manning season in Indianapolis when the future Hall of Fame quarterback was out with a neck injury. Caldwell also won a Super Bowl ring as offensive coordinator in Baltimore.
  • The Panthers are putting together an impressive staff thus far, with Caldwell joining new QB coach Josh McCown and defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
  • The Ravens have a new offensive coordinator this morning. Baltimore announced that they have hired Todd Monken as their new OC:
  • Monken, 57, spent the last three seasons at Georgia, guiding an offense that won consecutive national championships. Before Georgia, Monken had two stints as an OC in the NFL with the Buccaneers (2016-2018) and the Browns (2019). Before that, he served as head coach at Southern Mississippi (2013-2015)
  • Monken replaces former Ravens OC Greg Roman, who left the team after the season. Ravens head coach Jim Harbaugh released a statement on the hire this morning:
  • Chiefs quarterback Chad Henne announced his retirement from the NFL on his Instagram account on Sunday night. Henne was originally a second-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2008 and spent the latter part of his career as a backup.
  • Henne played in Miami, Jacksonville, and Kansas City and appeared in 78 games, going 18-36 as a starter. Henne completed 59.6 percent of his passes and threw for 13,290 yards, 60 touchdowns, and 63 interceptions. Still, Henne retires a Super Bowl champion and a quarterback who made $40 million. Kudos and cheers!
  • With the Super Bowl in the books, we’re going to shift our focus to the offseason, which starts officially on March 15. We’ll be releasing offseason previews for each team, beginning Friday, with one NFC and one AFC team releasing each weekday between now and the start of the new league year in the NFL.
  • The Bears will be one of the two teams that run on Friday, and this will be one of the questions that they have to answer:
  • Oh, baby, baseball is back! You know I’m a Sox fan, but seeing mid-February clips featuring loud glove pops and bat cracks gets the juices flowing!
  • written by

    Patrick grew up in Chicago's Bridgeport and Garfield Ridge neighborhoods before moving to the Western Suburbs of Chicago before eventually relocating to the Las Vegas area with his family in 2023. He started with Bleacher Nation in 2021 and has spent time as a Staff Writer and on the Chicago Blackhawks beat. He is currently a writer and editor at Bleacher Nation covering the Chicago Bears and the NFL at large and the author of the Bleacher Nation Newsletter. Patrick is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA).

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