New Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner told a story about how head coach Shane Steichen held him accountable in front of the rest of the team.
A lot has been made about the Indianapolis Colts' internal culture over the last few seasons.
The team has missed the playoffs for five consecutive years, and occasional insider stories and reports have led some to question the team's culture. When you're not winning consistently enough, that's typically bound to come up.
However, one high-profile player who is new to the organization this year, cornerback Sauce Gardner, shared a story this week about how head coach Shane Steichen held him accountable in a team meeting "in front of everybody."
"I had messed my calf up, and I had to be in the training room at 7:00 a.m.," Gardner began. "I get in the training room at like 7:02. I walk in, and Coach Shane is like, 'What's up, Sauce?' I'm like, 'What's good, Coach?' Boom, fast forward to the team meeting after that training room session, Coach said, 'Sauce, you was late to the training room today. Can you tell us why you were late?' In front of the whole team, everybody...
"But then, I'm like, okay, that was his way of showing me how things are there, and I had to get with the program. Like, alright, it's 7:00 a.m. training room, it's not just, 'Alright, it's the training room, I can get there a couple minutes late.' It's, alright, I need to get there around 6:55, like it was like a meeting. So, it's a very unique process there."
The Colts acquired Gardner at the in-season trade deadline on Nov. 4, sending their next two first-round draft picks and wide receiver AD Mitchell to the New York Jets in exchange.
Gardner quickly played extensively for the Colts, with the first two games going to overtime. However, he suffered a non-contact calf injury on Nov. 30 that kept him out for the next three games.
In total, Gardner appeared in four games with the Colts, making 16 tackles and three pass breakups.
The Colts are hopeful that a healthy offseason for Gardner will allow him to get back to the form that earned him First-Team All-Pro recognition in 2022 and 2023.
Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL.