Indianapolis, IN — Former Super Bowl-winning head coach Bruce Arians recently shared his thoughts on the state of the Indianapolis Colts, emphasizing the importance of patience as a reason to remain calm during challenging times.
Arians has regularly appeared on The Pat McAfee Show for the 2025-26 NFL season, providing his insight and knowledge of the game in a more casual setting. On Tuesday’s show, McAfee, Arians, and Co. began talking about the Atlanta Falcons and teams that have ended the season on a comparable
trajectory. Inevitably, the Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers came up.
While the Falcons earned the upward trajectory descriptor, the Colts earned the opposite. Atlanta is stringing together some solid wins down the stretch, while Indianapolis has (once again in the Ballard era) found itself back at square one.
Bruce Arians, the NFL’s 2012 coach of the year as an interim with the Colts, then pivoted to the state of Indianapolis, offering a plea of patience to the fanbase as he cited various reasons to not give up just yet:
“I hope the Colts don’t make a change, because I think they’re close…be patient, you’re very, very close,” Arians explained. “Don’t let one or two injuries run you out of the whole damn thing and start all over again.”
Arians would continue adding to his perspective, citing things like an 8-1 start as well as injuries, but while those reasons are objectively valid, there almost seems to be a curse of sorts latched onto W. 56th St., and Pat McAfee made sure that Arians heard him out.
“There’s something in that building,” McAfee retorted. “Every year, there’s valid excuses for why the team is ass.”
Often regarded as the quarterback whisperer, Arians knows a thing or two about the game, so while most may disagree with his take, hearing him out is the least one could do. The issue, however, is that, while Arians’ explanation makes perfect sense, there simply shouldn’t be enough of the leash left to allow Chris Ballard and Co. to run it back.
Head coach Shane Steichen is also part of this equation, though in a smaller capacity, given that he’s only played a small part in the overall dysfunction. In reality, a lame-duck season with Steichen leading the charge suggests much more hypothetical success than retaining just Ballard or both in tandem. The discussion in question addressed a bigger talking point altogether, namely, the front office and the subsequent culture it birthed.
Daniel Jones was undoubtedly playing like the Colts’ franchise quarterback during their strong start, but coming back from an Achilles tear in sports rarely sees a return to form, especially so immediately — aka for the ‘one more year’ in question. Although he’s expected to be ready for the 2026-27 regular season, putting all your eggs in one rehabilitated basket feels uninspired, to say the least.
Bruce Arians’s opinion should be valued. There’s no denying that he’s earned our right to listen to his perspective. At the end of the day, this is a big-picture decision, and Carlie Irsay-Gordon and Co. are the ones with the power and foresight to make the executive decision. With that being said, I have one last question to pose to Irsay-Gordon as this dilemma nears a decision:
Do you want to Band-Aid it, or fix it for the long term?
