For nearly 30 years, former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich was known for orchestrating the largest comeback in NFL history
After Saturday’s historic collapse by the team he coached just over one month ago, that torch has now been passed. The owner of the largest comeback in NFL history now belongs to Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who helped erase a 33-point deficit in the final 24 minutes of the Week 15 game.
Even though Reich no longer holds the record, he made it a point to reach out to Cousins to congratulate him on the historic feat, according to Peter King of NBC Sports in his Football Morning in America column.
“Frank texted me to say, ‘Kirk, for 30 years, that moment has given me an opportunity to share many things about football and life, tell people about my faith, and now the torch has been passed to you.’ So it was a powerful text. I already had a great deal of respect for Frank but after that text it went through the roof. I took what he said seriously,” Cousins told King in an interview.
Reich confirmed the text he sent to Cousins, noting he understood the platform it gave him to inspire others in both football and life.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to encourage lots of people because of that game—some with football lessons, some with lessons of spirituality. Maybe Kirk will be like me—maybe he’ll have 30 years of being able to use this as inspiration the way I was able to,” Reich told King in an interview Sunday.
It seems a bit poetic that Reich’s record was broken against the team he was the head coach of fewer than two months ago. There’s no doubt that Reich still roots for the players he used to coach, but this was simply another rock-bottom situation for an organization that has been laughing stock of the league for how they’ve handled the last month.
It will be interesting to see how the Colts regroup after this loss, but it’s not one that will be going away anytime soon.
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