Colts Coach Frank Reich’s Playoff Message: ‘Do Ordinary Things Extraordinarily Well’

In preparing his players for Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Playoff game at the Buffalo Bills, Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich reiterated lessons learned from Hall of Fame coaches Marv Levy, Tony Dungy.

INDIANAPOLIS — His NFL path from longtime backup quarterback to Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator to Indianapolis Colts head coach has reinforced what’s important in the postseason.

Frank Reich emphasized that message to his Colts players as they prepared for Saturday’s AFC Wild Card Playoff game at the Buffalo Bills.

“There is a lot, I mean not just as a head coach and as a coordinator, player, assistant coach and all those things, everything that you do, you carry with you to the next level,” Reich said Tuesday. “I really think if I were to sum it up generally would be what I mentioned to you that we talked about to the team today – it’s really about what we do.

“Resist the tendency in these moments to try to be a hero. Resist the tendency in these moments to try and over coach players. Resist the tendency to try to over scheme and think that you’re going to unlock – yeah, you are still doing all of those things, we are still going to put wrinkles in, offensively, defensively and special teams, we are going to scheme things up to try to put the players in the best position — but you have to do what you do well.”

He’s reminded of the words of Hall of Fame coaches Marv Levy and Tony Dungy, among others. Reich played 10 seasons for Levy with the Bills and got his NFL coaching start as a Colts intern with Dungy in 2006.

“I hear the echoes of Marv Levy, Tony Dungy, and many others who have had an influence on me of doing the ordinary things extraordinarily well,” Reich said. “At the end of the day, what we talked about as a team was what will cause us to win this game is our players doing ordinary things in an extraordinary manner.”

Reich sent a message to Levy, 95, this week but doesn’t know if his former coach will attend the game at Bills Stadium.

Colts head coach Frank Reich's 29-21 record includes 1-1 in the playoffs :: Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

As much as Reich has reason to be proud of his Bills days, there’s nothing sentimental about facing them in the playoffs. He’s been on the other sideline before, so his focus is strictly on ensuring his Colts are properly prepared.

“Obviously, it’s a special place for Linda and I and our family,” Reich said Monday of Buffalo. “Two of our girls were born there, but this is a business trip to your point. Fortunately, I have been back to Buffalo a few times since as a player and as a coach. I feel like I have gotten all of that out of my system. It’s unique because it is the playoffs but – love Buffalo, will always love Buffalo. I will always be a Bills fan, except for this Saturday for sure. I was a Bills fan on Sunday though, and they did us right.”

The Bills (13-3) defeated Miami on Sunday to deprive the Dolphins of a playoff spot and open the door for the Colts. Buffalo won nine of 10 games to earn the AFC’s No. 2 seed and are AFC East Division champions for the first time since 1995. The Bills last hosted a playoff game at Orchard Park, N.Y., in 1996, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 1995.

Bills coach Sean McDermott is in the playoffs for the third time in four years. Buffalo led last year’s Wild Card game at Houston before suffering a bitter 22-19 loss in overtime.

The Colts (11-5) won six of eight to earn the No. 7 seed in this postseason’s expanded format with one additional qualifier in each conference.

Reich led the Colts to the playoffs in his first season in 2018. After a 1-5 start, quarterback Andrew Luck played lights out as the Colts won nine of 10 games, then defeated the AFC South Division champion Texans on the road in a Wild Card game. The run ended the next week at Kansas City.

“One of the things we said today was, it’s the playoffs so it’s everybody’s job out there to look at this game from every angle there is,” Reich said. “That’s part of what makes it so popular, but we have one angle that we have to look at this game, and that’s that we have to get ready to play a really good football team and prepare. That is really all my mind is focused on.”