Shane Steichen walked into his postgame news conference on Sunday, October 18, after the Indianapolis Colts had been booed off their own field, and he took the fans’ side. The Colts had just let a 13-0 halftime lead become a 26-20 loss to a Tennessee Titans team that arrived without a win, and their head coach said the crowd had every reason to be angry.
“I don’t blame them for booing one freaking bit,” Steichen said, adding that it is on his team to hand those fans something worth cheering.
Colts fans loudly show their disgust with Sunday’s loss with relentless booing.
"They're upset. We lost to the Tennessee Titans. They were 0-5. And now they're 1-5."
https://t.co/mWVMzWZzvg— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) October 19, 2026
Jones stays, and the job question
The two questions that followed the defeat were about the quarterback and about Steichen himself. On the first, he gave a direct answer. “Yes, he is still our starting quarterback,” he said of Daniel Jones, who threw two interceptions in Titans territory, was sacked six times and finished 22 of 42 for 269 yards and one touchdown. Jones has now been charged with nine turnovers through six games, and part of the fan base has been calling for backup Anthony Richardson.
On the second, Steichen kept the focus narrow. He said preparing the roster for the next game is his job and his only concern right now, and that he and owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon have not discussed his future, describing their talks as football only. Steichen went 8-9 in each of the past two seasons, and Indianapolis is now 2-4 after back-to-back losses, the first a 34-22 defeat at Pittsburgh.
Asked about his tone with the players afterward, he said it matched the one he was using in front of reporters: angry. He also said the staff is reviewing every part of the operation.
What he wants fixed
Steichen called the afternoon extremely disappointing and listed the same faults in several answers: turnovers, a kicking game that gave up a blocked punt and a long return, and an offense that keeps building leads it cannot protect and has to start turning red-zone trips into touchdowns. He also pointed to pass interference calls late in the game.
The numbers support the frustration. Indianapolis outgained Tennessee 399 to 186, ran for 165 yards and kept the ball for 38 minutes and 32 seconds, yet lost the turnover battle 3-1. Jeffery Simmons stripped Jonathan Taylor on the first snap of the third quarter, Chimere Dike’s 58-yard punt return set up the tying touchdown, and Oluwafemi Oladejo returned a blocked punt 14 yards for the go-ahead score. A 36-yard interference flag against Cam Taylor-Britt moved the Titans into range for the go-ahead field goal with 2:03 to play.
His closing message was that nobody in the building is allowed to quit, because a quick turnaround is the only option with a difficult road trip ahead.
What comes next
The Indianapolis Colts visit the Minnesota Vikings next Sunday, October 25 (1 p.m. EDT kickoff) (Game Center), then face the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sunday’s full result is in the Game Center.
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