How assistant QB coach Parks Frazier went from grinding tape to calling plays for 1st time
INDIANAPOLIS -- The only time Parks Frazier has ever called plays for an offense has come in a split-field walk-through setting at practice.
On Sunday, that will change entirely when he's the man with the play sheet for the Colts against the Raiders.
Of the whirlwind of changes that have blown through Indianapolis over the past two weeks, from the benching of Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger to the firings of head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady to the hiring of interim coach Jeff Saturday, Frazier's promotion to primary play caller was one of the strongest leaps of faith.
He's a 30-year-old assistant quarterbacks coach who has never run a position room, let alone an offense. He's been a grinder behind the scenes for Reich and Brady, diving into the most nuanced details of their offensive scheme and working through data to evolve the approach. He joked on Thursday that the light flooding the glass door in the Colts' press conference room was the first light he's seen outside of practice or games in weeks.
Now, a pass game specialist from Corinth, Miss., will be the voice in the ear of Ehlinger as the 24-year-old looks for his first touchdown pass and first win in the NFL. Frazier will work from the press box as he normally does, but his role will evolve for an offense looking to find itself.
"I'm aggressive but in my own way," Frazier said. "Aggressive can look a lot of different ways. You can run the ball and be aggressive in your own ways. I'm still an aggressive thinker."
Frazier has worked with the Colts since 2018, the year Reich arrived. He spent two years as an assistant to the head coach before working in offensive quality control in 2020. He's been the team's assistant quarterbacks coach the past two years, working with Scott Milanovich.
He's trying to find his footing in a season that has been as rocky as ever.
Just eight months ago, he was on a Zoom call with Reich, Brady and general manager Chris Ballard as they sold Ryan on the Colts becoming the destination for his second act. They sold an offensive line that blocked for the league's leading rusher in Jonathan Taylor and had two Pro Bowlers on the interior.
Now, half of the Colts' side of that meeting has been fired, and Ryan has been benched. Frazier has become the play-caller for Ehlinger, who started the year as the third string. And together, they must find a way to generate offense with an offensive line that has been leaky in all facets, including when it gave up a season-high nine sacks against the Patriots on Sunday.
"I think it comes down to having a process at the line of scrimmage: having non-negotiable items that go into playing the position, eliminating emotion, eliminating anything that doesn't help me get the play, call the play and execute the play at a high level," Ehlinger said.
The week has been a lot on them both. On Sunday, the Colts lost to the Patriots with the worst offensive showing in yards per play in the franchise's history in Indianapolis. On Monday, Reich was out of a job and Saturday was in as interim coach. On Tuesday, Frazier became the new offensive play caller after interviewing among the assistants left on the offensive staff.
"I think a lot of it was that those guys have roles," Frazier said of the other assistants. "Me stepping into this role allows everyone else to keep their same roles and a lot of those processes stay in place."
He described the current offensive coordinator role as collaborative. That's a shift from when Brady ran the meetings for players and assistants earlier in the season and then Reich did it last week. Now, the Colts are passing the leadership duties around like a baton and hoping to find a spark.
The first test will come Sunday against a Raiders team that has two Pro Bowl edge rushers in Chandler Jones and Maxx Crosby but has otherwise disappointed this year with a 2-6 record and a last-place ranking on defense by Football Outsiders' DVOA metric for efficiency.
Against a road crowd and with a talented edge rush bearing down, Frazier knows the key will be making Ehlinger as comfortable as possible, which he never was against the Patriots.
"You play to his strength and then you do things to try to help him," Frazier said. "You want to get him in a rhythm and get him some confidence early. That way, he can get into the game and get a feel a game and once you get into that flow, now you're into your subconscious thoughts."
Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Parks Frazier is calling plays for the first time in his career
