Colts fire offensive coordinator Marcus Brady 5 days before playing Patriots

When the New England Patriots take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9, they will be facing a team in disarray.

As was announced on Tuesday morning, the Colts have relieved offensive coordinator Marcus Brady just five days ahead of the game in New England. Brady’s firing comes a week after starting quarterback Matt Ryan was benched for sophomore Sam Ehlinger.

“This was an incredibly hard decision, but one I felt needed to be made in the best interest of the team,” Colts 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.”

Brady arrived in Indianapolis in 2018 as assistant quarterbacks coach. After serving as quarterbacks coach in 2019 and 2020, he took over as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2021.

However, the 3-4-1 Colts are ranked just 30th in the NFL this season having scored a mere 16.1 points per game. The blame falls not entirely on Brady — Reich very much has a hand in the offensive operation as well — but he has now become the second victim of those issues after Ryan.

Ryan was benched after seven games that saw him complete 68.4 percent of his pass attempts for 2,008 yards, nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also fumbled the ball a league-high 11 times, with three of those resulting in additional turnovers.

Sam Ehlinger did not fare much better in his first start in Week 8. The 2021 sixth-round draft pick completed 73.9 percent of his throws for 201 yards against Washington, but he also lost a fumble. Indianapolis ended up losing 17-16.

Now, the Colts will travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the Patriots. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. ET.