Insider: Colts' Frank Reich plans to turn his coaching staff loose

INDIANAPOLIS – During Frank Reich’s first few days on the job, his ever-growing to-do list likely felt overwhelming.

How could it not.

All he had to do in his initial days as the Indianapolis Colts’ head coach was build a coaching staff, learn his new team, assess the roster and, oh, find a place to live.

As it turned out, finding a house would prove the easiest of these tasks. The Reich family signed a contract on a beauty in the Meridian-Kessler area within a week. But just about everything else became a more drawn-out process.

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Nevertheless, Reich heeded some very specific advice from General Manager Chris Ballard. Concentrate, Ballard said, on what the team considered job No. 1: assembling a top-notch coaching staff.

“I can’t overstate how important and how good that feels to be on the same page as (Ballard) and have that strong leadership, giving me the patience to work through the staff,” Reich said at this week's NFL Scouting Combine. (Ballard said,) ‘Don’t rush.’ That was his first thing. ‘Don’t rush. Make sure you get the guys you want.’ And that’s what we did. There was no shortcut. It’s long days. It’s eight, nine hours a day of interviewing people. So, that’s nine hours a day for 10 days where you’re not evaluating tape and doing other things.

“But that staff piece was just critically important.”

Reich completed his coaching hires earlier this week, and we’re starting to see a clearer picture of how he’ll operate as a new coach. Perhaps most notably is Reich’s comfort level with letting his coaches do what he hired them to do.

He won’t be completely hands-off, but he certainly won’t be hovering, either.

“Even though I’ll be involved,” Reich said, “we hired guys that I’m very confident in.”

That includes everything from the defense, over which defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus will have autonomy, to special teams, which will be presided over by special-teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone. Both are first-time coordinators. Even though Reich will call plays on offense, he will delegate many important duties, including some of the installation of the scheme to offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni.

This can be an area of considerable challenge for head coaches, especially those who are doing the job for the first time. You can be too deferential or, on the other hand, too much of a control freak. Reich is trying to find the sweet spot.

“There’s a balance you’re always looking to strike,” he said.

“I really like the collaborative effort,” he added. “The more coaches we get involved (the better). There’s a place where somebody’s got to make a decision. That’s what the coordinator does and that’s what the head coach does. But you get ideas and you talk things through. I just think it makes you better and you get better ideas.”

Reich and Sirianni will have a unique working relationship, Reich said, one that should pick up where it left off in San Diego. Reich and Sirianni were on then-Chargers coach Mike McCoy’s staff in 2013 and tackled a task similar to the one they now face.

“I can’t even tell you how confident I am in Nick,” Reich said. “We already did this once together in San Diego. We installed the whole passing game.”

Sirianni and Reich will also run point on coaching the team’s quarterbacks. Reich did not hire a quarterbacks coach, saying he needs to initially have significant interaction with that unit as the Colts embark on their first year in a new offense. Reich didn’t rule out hiring a quarterbacks coach in the future and does have an assistant quarterbacks coach on staff (Marcus Brady).

Reich’s heavy involvement in the offense means he will hand the keys to the defense to Eberflus. It’s a lot to take on for the first time, but Reich apparently has joined Ballard in feeling Eberflus is up to the task. Eberflus won’t have to worry about Reich looking over his shoulder, either.

“Matt and I have already talked at length about this,” Reich said. “I’m going to find ways to (contribute) to the defense, but Matt is going to run the defense. Matt and I will be in great communication. I can tell already he has the kind of character and the kind of communication skills that it’s going to be an easy conversation for him and I to talk back and forth. (I might say,) ‘Hey, what are you seeing this week?’ Maybe I can give some perspective from the other side. I might be able to help a little bit, but I’m not going to fool myself. I want Matt to run the defense.”

Reich took his time, got the staff he wanted, and now he’s turning them loose to their jobs. It is nothing if not an impressively mature approach for a first-time coach who certainly doesn’t act like one.

Follow Colts Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

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