INDIANAPOLIS —"It's going to be a multiple, attack, up-tempo offense. We're going to be aggressive."
Frank Reich's plans for the Indianapolis Colts' offense is music to Andrew Luck's ears.
Reich, hired to be the Colts' new head coach on Sunday, comes to Indy from Philadelphia, where he served as the Eagles' offensive coordinator the last two seasons.
The Eagles, as we all know, just parlayed that same aggressive approach into the franchise's first-ever Super Bowl title, a 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots on Feb. 4.
Now Reich will be dialing up the plays for Luck and Colts' offense.
"That sounds great," Luck said with a smile Thursday in a video chat with Colts.com. "I know all the best offenses that I've been a part of in my career we've not been static and we've attacked. And I'm sure he'll have a great flavor and we'll involve as many people as we can, and attacking defenses is what it's all about."
Like everybody else within the Colts' organization, Luck watched on with great interest as it appeared the team was actually zeroing in on hiring New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to be its next head coach. But when McDaniels, who had agreed to terms with the Colts, decided not to take the job the night of Feb. 6, the team immediately shifted its focus to three new possible candidates, one of which included Reich.
Reich, who got his start in coaching as an intern with the Colts in 2006 before beginning his ascent up the ladder, was interviewed by the team on Friday — the day after the Eagles' championship parade — and, by Sunday, he had been offered, and accepted, the head coach position.
For his part, Luck said he was "really excited, and really happy for everybody involved in the Colts" when he had heard Reich was officially on board.
"Especially for Chris, for Mr. Ballard, because I can't imagine what that process is like," Luck said. "And then for him to still be able to sort of take his emotions out of it and continue along with the process, I very much admire him.
"Things have a way of working out, and I'm really, really glad with how they did work out, and I think that's probably how most guys feel."
In his decade-plus of coaching in the NFL, Reich has worked closely with the likes of Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, Philip Rivers in San Diego and Carson Wentz in Philadelphia. But that's already on top of 14 years of experience as an NFL quarterback, most of which he spent as Hall of Famer Jim Kelly's backup with the Buffalo Bills, where the team advanced to four straight Super Bowls from 1990 through 1993.
Luck said he's excited at the prospect of learning and playing under someone who's not only worked with some of the best quarterbacks the game has to offer, but who also knows what it's like to play at the highest of levels.
"You can learn something from everybody, and certainly our history shapes so much of how we think and (our) thought process, and I'm really excited to hear his thought process and how he did it as a player and how he's seen other players do it, and how he's done it as a coach," Luck said. "I think that could have a very positive impact on our team."
Luck, meanwhile, is continuing to work his way back after missing the entire 2017 season as he continued to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. After briefly returning to the practice field in a limited capacity early in October, the team decided to shut Luck down for the rest of the season and ramp up his rehab work.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard said last week that Luck is yet to start throwing a football in his workouts, but that his "strength is good" and that he's "working on arm speed" at this point in time.
Reich told Colts.com's Matt Taylor on Tuesday that he's "excited for what’s ahead" for Luck.
"And once he gets over this injury, the best is ahead," Reich said.
Teamed up with Reich and the Colts' new offensive staff — and its attacking style of play — Luck said he can't wait to get started, either.
"Going back to (Reich's) playing days, he's incredibly successful, and he's been around some awesome quarterbacks," Luck said. "And I hope I can learn from him and ask him how Peyton or Carson or Philip did it, and find the best way for me or for whatever Colt quarterback way that is. I hope I can give him the most that I can give, and that he can help me get out of me the most that's there."
