Daniel Jones’ 2025 season foreshadows breakout year for Indianapolis Colts coach on the rise
Daniel Jones’ breakout season in 2025 was no coincidence. And Indianapolis Colts fans have a lot of reasons to believe success will follow, including a couple of promising coaches on staff.
In Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season, quarterback Daniel Jones suffered a devastating torn Achilles injury that derailed the Indianapolis Colts season. That was the end of Jones’ most surprising season of his career.
Led by Jones, the Colts entered that game with the ninth-best offense in dropback EPA/play, according to RBSDM. They were also Top 10 in dropback success rate and air yards per attempt, meaning Jones was pushing the ball downfield. How did it all happen?
While the conversation has been all about Jones and even head coach Shane Steichen, there’s a key assistant coach who could soon be fielding offers from all around the NFL.
Colts assistant coach named ‘breakout’ candidate
The breakout conversation is usually reserved for players, but The Athletic’s NFL insider Jourdan Rodrigue recently put her own spin on it. She looked at assistant coaches around the league who could be poised for a breakout season and one Colts coach stood out: passing game coordinator Alex Tanney.
“Before his season-ending injury, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones was enjoying a career season, and Tanney was one of the coaches who served as a behind-the-scenes architect,” Rodrigue wrote. “He worked with head coach Shane Steichen at his previous stop in Philadelphia and has become an extremely valuable assistant to him.”
Tanney, who had a brief stint with the Colts as a quarterback in 2015, is entering his third season coaching in Indianapolis. His work in 2025 was so evident that he even interviewed for the New York Giants’ offensive coordinator role under head coach John Harbaugh.
A second big year with Jones, whose career was filled with ups and downs before arriving at Indianapolis, would go a long way in advancing Tanney’s career. While Rodrigue clarified her list wasn’t about finding future head coaches or coordinators, Tanney is in a spot to do so.
Tanney’s exact role in Indianapolis is a little unclear, though passing game coordinators often have plenty of influence in third down and red zone packages. The Colts ranked Top 5 in red zone touchdown percentage and third down EPA/play. They also ranked seventh in third down conversion rate.
Another Colts coach gets a nod
“Cam Turner, the Colts’ quarterbacks coach, also gets a nod here,” Rodrigue wrote on her article. “He was described to me as a ‘glue guy’ in Indianapolis who, like Tanney, helps set the schematic table for offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and Steichen.”
The biggest positive Colts fans should take out of this is clear: the offensive success in 2025 was no luck. Steichen’s staff is a promising one, and one that draws the attention from the NFL world. As long as Jones stays healthy, the offense should continue to find success.