Colts announce hiring of Mike Minnis as new director of sports performance

The Colts have made a significant hire in their sports department department, who already has familiarity with Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen.

The Indianapolis Colts announced the finalization of their coaching staff on Monday, and while there were no surprises—as the hiring of assistant defensive backs coach Justin Hamilton, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, and passing game coordinator Alex Tanney were already widely reported, there was one notable update.

The Colts have hired Mike Minnis as their new director of sport performance, who replaces Rusty Jones, the longtime NFL veteran who recently retired after spending the last six seasons (2018-23) in Indianapolis.

Minnis just finished his eight season as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles sports medicine and performance department. During the 2021 offseason, he was promoted from Eagles’ coordinator to director of performance nutrition/assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Via Eagles.com:

“In his [former] role, Minnis plans and manages the execution of day-to-day performance nutrition initiatives, administers body composition analysis, and evaluates data to enhance performance and recovery. Additionally, Minnis assists with development and implementation of the strength and conditioning program.”

Obviously, there’s some familiarity between Minnis and Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who previously served as the Eagles offensive coordinator (2021-22). Not to mention, Colts newcomer Alex Tanney, who was an Eagles offensive assistant coach since 2021.

The Eagles have made significantly overhauled their entire coaching staff under embattled head coach Nick Sirianni, including replacing their offensive and defensive coordinators, and it’s possible that those changes may have even bled into their sports performance department as well—with Minnis being a potential casualty. Although it’s reasonable that maybe he preferred the greater job stability with Steichen and moved him and his family to the Midwest because of it.