After Sunday’s playoff-disqualifying loss to the Giants, former Colts punter Pat McAfee went off on the team, pointing out that the Colts currently are dealing with issues of work ethic, commitment, tardiness, etc.
Colts coach Shane Steichen was asked about the criticism by reporters on Monday.
“I think with any team, right, not everyone’s gonna be on time every time, but there is accountability and guys are held to a standard and that is talked about in house,” Steichen said. “And I don’t think that. And I think, you know, with anything — I think Pat, you know, he’s a former alumni who wants to see the Colts do well, just like all our fans want us to do well, and when the standard is not getting in the playoffs, it’s frustrating. So it’s frustrating for a lot of people, myself included. And that’s where we talked about the standard being raised so we’re not in these situations.”
Here’s the thing about accountability. The goal is to change behavior. If that doesn’t happen, it’s not working.
The mere fact that Steichen would accept tardiness as inevitable underscores the cultural issues about which McAfee complained. They’re tolerating it, with at best a small fine that does nothing to spark big change.
Whatever the Colts are doing isn’t working, whether it relates to punctuality or on-field performance. The only question is whether and to what extent ownership will make changes.
