Stampede Blue
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, a number of Indianapolis Colts assistant coaches have been named among his ‘top young head coaching candidates to know’—which included (with their ages denoted thereafter): offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter (41), tight ends coach Tom Manning (42), offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. (39), and quarterbacks coach Cam Turner (38).
In particular, Cooter was highlighted among these young Colts assistant coaches with a key blurb from Pelissero:
Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter, 41: A one-time backup quarterback at Tennessee, Cooter was just 31 when he took over as the Lions’ play-caller in 2015 and instantly sparked a turnaround for Matthew Stafford and Detroit’s offense. A decade later, he’s an integral piece of Indianapolis’ No. 1-ranked offense, even though head coach Shane Steichen calls the plays. Steichen loves Cooter because he lives in the details — leverage, spacing, timing, intent behind each look — that can change the entire picture. Cooter’s ability to stay one step ahead has been integral to the Colts’ process and is one reason other teams may be intrigued to spend more time getting to know him.
Given that the Colts (8-2) currently lead the league in points scored (32.1 avg. ppg) and most total offensive yards per game (396.9), and it shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise that Cooter was among the featured young assistant coaches league-wide for potential head coaching jobs down the road by Pelissero.
While Colts head coach Shane Steichen is seemingly the ‘brains behind the play-calling operation,’ there’s no question that Cooter also provides him valuable coaching support as his ‘right hand man’—as highlighed above.
However, I would be remissed to also not give a major shout out to Colts young offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr., who has two new full-time interior offensive line starters, Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves, in just their second-years, playing some really good football right now for one of the league’s best units collectively.
The offensive playcalling has been largely great, but so has the blocking up front, and the two work hand-in-hand.
At any rate, it’s a nice tip of the helmet for many of these young Colts assistant coaches to be recognized nationally, and who knows, maybe there will be some future head coaching hires among them in the near future.
The Colts are surprisingly one of the best teams in all of football right now, and that Cinderella shoe doesn’t appear to be falling off anytime soon down the season’s final stretch run.
Team success brings outside interested suitors, who would like to try to mimic those same highly favorable results. We saw firsthand back in 2020, when the upstart Colts went 11-5, made an AFC wild card game, and soon saw key members of former head coach Frank Reich’s very talented Indy coaching staff poached by other teams for head coaching hires elsewhere: OC Nick Sirianni, DC Matt Eberflus, and CBs coach Jonathan Gannon.
