Reggie Wayne is one of the greatest Indianapolis Colts wide receivers of all time, second only to Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. So when Colts’ head coach Frank Reich hired him in March as their receivers coach, it wasn’t a shock to anyone. But what no one expected was the size of the impact Wayne quickly made on the team, according to Reich.
Coach Reggie Wayne working with his young WRs on day 2 of #Colts camp. Here he is with rookie @alecpierce.
HC Frank Reich on @ReggieWayne_17: “He’s done a phenomenal job with these guys. I mean Reggie, you talk about ‘it’ factor, Reggie has brought an ‘it’ factor to that room.” pic.twitter.com/SEWa8lh8wJ
— Taylor Tannebaum (@TaylorTannebaum) July 28, 2022
Wayne’s immediate impact surprised Reich.
“Reggie’s been unbelievable,” Reich said, via Colts.com. “I cannot tell you how fast an adjustment he’s made to the coaching life. He’s had an impact in that room already, you can see it. A couple of things technically that he brings to the table, the way he’s teaching them to get in and out of breaks, I think. I see it, I saw it in OTAs. I feel like we’ve gotten better and then, I just think the air of confidence that Reggie has and that he’s played and played at such a high level.”
In his career with the Colts, Wayne had over 14,000 yards receiving and 82 touchdowns, so he knows a little something about playing the position.
Shockingly, however, although Wayne retired just eight years ago, a lot of the young players on the team didn’t know who he was.
“These guys, they play Madden all day. I’m not on Madden anymore,” Wayne said. “It’s just a different world, different feel. But to some degree I think that’s good. That way I can teach them who I am as I teach them how to get better.”
If the players didn’t know who he was before, they do now.
[Pro Football Talk; photo from Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports]
