Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Marcus Brady was fired Tuesday morning following the team's Week 8 loss to the Washington Commanders, the team announced.
"This was an incredibly hard decision, but one I felt needed to be made in the best interest of the team," head coach Frank Reich said in a statement. "I appreciate Marcus's commitment to the organization, and he made a significant contribution to our offensive success over the last five seasons. I wish him the best moving forward."
Although the team is fourth in passing attempts and ninth in passing yards, the Colts have averaged just 16.1 points per game this season, which ranks 30th in the NFL. The running game, meanwhile, ranks 25th in attempts in 29th in yards — likely due to 2021 leading rushing Jonathan Taylor's two-week ankle injury and the team's horrible 3.7 yards per attempt.
While it may be easy to pin the blame on Brady, it's not all his fault.
For one, Reich is actually the team's offensive play-caller — not Brady — which follows a familiar trend this season. Denver Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett is also his team's offensive play-caller and the Broncos average slightly fewer points than the Colts. Indianapolis is also tied for first in turnovers this season with 16 and Matt Ryan led the league in interceptions with nine before he was benched for Sam Ehlinger prior to Week 8.
The running game has also declined in 2022 after ranking second in yards per attempt and fifth in touchdowns. Some of that is due to the injury to Taylor, but the offensive line also ranks 31st in adjusted line yards, according to Football Outsiders.
Brady, 43, was also endured a non-stop quarterback carousel since he was hired in 2018. He's coached four different quarterbacks during every year of his tenure: Andrew Luck in 2018, Jacoby Brissett in 2019, Philip Rivers in 2020, Carson Wentz in 2021 and Ryan in 2022. Brady was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2021 when Nick Sirianni became the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
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