The head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, Shane Steichen, has become one of the most respected people and offensive minds in the entire NFL.
He made a name for himself when he transformed Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts into an MVP caliber player, leading the team to the Super Bowl in 2022.
Steichen accepted the Colts head coaching job following the Super Bowl and the Eagles offense immediately took a nosedive, and he was subsequently praised as the driving force of the 2022 run.
Perhaps a more underrated piece of Steichen's importance to Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni's success is his role in the implementation of the "tush push."
During his first season as Philadelphia's offensive coordinator, he played a massive role in developing the play, and from his account, Sirianni became enamored with it and would call it whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Four years later, the play finds itself at the center of a controversy that has NFL teams split.
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Many teams have tried to replicate the tush push because the Eagles are so good at it, but mostly everyone besides them have failed.
The Green Bay Packers have proposed banning the play and there is considerable momentum behind the motion, but Sirianni is expecting some backup to keep the play alive.
During a conversation with NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Eagles' head coach was asked about the potential banning of the play, and he said he expects to have four votes in support of the tush push.
He noted that Steichen, Arizona Cardinals head coach Johnathan Gannon, and New Orleans Saints head coach Kellen Moore all have their positions because of him and that is directly tied to the dominance of the tush push.
Spoke to Nick Sirianni today on the tush-push vote. With a grin, he said: "We'll see how it goes. All I will say about it is (Jonathan) Gannon, (Shane) Steichen and (Kellen) Moore better vote for it. They are in the (head coach) position right now because of that play. So all… pic.twitter.com/aZBV4KHzPq
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 30, 2025
There is no video to go along with the quote so it's hard to tell if Sirianni was being tongue in cheek, but it certainly sounds like something he would say with sincerity.
The fifth-year head coach has drawn all sorts of criticism from fans and media pundits because of tirades like this, but it's hard to say he doesn't have a point.
Everyone knows that advancing to or winning the Super Bowl is an invitation for your coaching staff to get poached.
The tush push was a major catalyst for both Eagles Super Bowl runs over the last three seasons, and those three coaches would have had a harder time getting their current position if it wasn't for the play.
There has been talks about bannint the tush push in the past, so only time will tell if it's truly the end of the tush push.
If Sirianni does have the support of his former understudies, then there's a great chance that the play's reign of terror will continue into the 2025 season.
Related: Anthony Richardson's Shocking Message to Colts Amid QB Controversy
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This story was originally published April 1, 2025 at 8:30 AM.