Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich made it clear during his first season that he would not shy away from being an aggressive play-caller.
Through three seasons, that notion has stood true. Reich is always will to push the limit on the aggressiveness of the offense, using a combination of his experience and the analytics department Indy has.
In ranking the top-10 most aggressive head coaches by Nick Shook of NFL Network, Reich rounded out the list at No. 10.
Average Aggressiveness Score: 17.5
Reich put his team’s fortunes in the hands of his veteran signal-caller in 2020, trusting Philip Rivers to get the job done in a variety of aggressive categories. He turned to Rivers to convert on fourth down, going for it at the seventh-highest rate of the entire league and converting 17 of 26 attempts. He also put his faith in Rivers when going for two, tying for 11th in two-point conversion attempt rate at 10 percent, and landed 14th and 15th, respectively, in downfield pass percentage (32.2) and total downfield passes (178). This created an interesting balance between aggressive passing and taking the open man, as Indy finished with an air yards to sticks of +0.5, which ranked 27th in the NFL. When Reich could add in rookie Jonathan Taylor’s second-half breakout, it made for a well-rounded offense that could afford to take risks. Defensively, it was more bend but don’t break, with the Colts blitzing at a rate of just 19.1 percent (31st). The offensive-minded Reich put his daring ambitions on the shoulders of the group possessing the ball, and it got Indianapolis back to the playoffs.
Reich will continue to be an aggressive head coach. Sometimes it works. Other times it doesn’t. But he always feels like going for the win and being aggressive is better than playing safe and conservative.
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