The Colts have formally announced Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as their new head coach, a move that’s been widely expected for several days.

The Eagles have played in two Super Bowls in the last six years, and both times their offensive coordinator left after the game to become the Colts’ head coach.

Frank Reich, who spent 2016 and 2017 as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator, coached the Colts from 2018 until he was fired on Nov. 7 with the Colts sitting at 3-5-1. They went 1-7 under interim coach Jeff Saturday, who was also a candidate for the permanent job.

Steichen, 37, becomes the 3^rd-youngest head coach in the NFL. He’s two weeks older than Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and about seven months older than Rams coach Sean McVay.

The Eagles began winning when head coach Nick Sirianni handed play calling duties over to Steichen a couple months into last season, and this year, his one full year as the play caller, they ranked third in the NFL in yards and scoring and then averaged 35 points in three postseason games.

It’s a bit of an ironic twist that Sirianni is losing his top offensive assistant to the team he blasted just three months ago for firing Reich, his close friend and mentor. Sirianni worked with Reich from 2013 through 2015 with the Chargers and was his offensive coordinator from 2018 through 2020 with the Colts.

After coaching a year at Louisville, Steichen began his NFL coaching career in 2011 under Norv Turner in San Diego as a defensive assistant before moving to offense with the Browns under Rob Chudzinski in 2013. He spent 2014 through 2020 in various roles back with the Chargers under Mike McCoy and Anthony Lynn, the first five of those seasons with Sirianni.