INDIANAPOLIS -- Frank Reich arrived in Indianapolis more than six months ago having not even been on general manager Chris Ballard's initial list of top candidates to be the franchise's next head coach. Reich, the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles last season, didn't get an interview during the initial search that ended with Josh McDaniels backing out of his verbal commitment to the Colts at the last minute.

Reich, who blew away Ballard and owner Jim Irsay in his interview to get the job, faced the challenge of being a first-time head coach along with dealing with a young roster that featured very few core players.

The Colts' record (2-5) is nothing to get excited about, but as each game, each practice and each day passes, Reich continues to show he was the right person for the job.

One of the differences on the surface between Reich and McDaniels is that Reich understood he was stepping into a rebuilding process that would take time and probably mean that the Colts would miss the playoffs for a fourth straight season. McDaniels might not have had the same patience as Reich, because he would have been a second-time head coach trying to repair his image after what happened in his 1 1/2 seasons as head coach of the Denver Broncos (2009-10).

"One of the things that some people may not think is a big deal is that he played the game," Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton said about Reich. "He understands how we feel. He's a player's coach. He's also been big with helping Andrew [Luck] out."

Reich, who spent 13 years in the NFL as a player, was up front about his expectations during the initial team meeting last spring.

"The message was -- right from the very start -- about three 'Ts'," Reich said. "The first one was about trust. We've got to start with trust. That's going to be the foundation. We have to trust each other -- players to players, players to coaches and coaches to player all throughout. You've got to have trust or you've got nothing. We were going to talk about toughness, that relentless pursuit to get better every day and an obsession to finish. The third 'T' was we talked about team. That this has got to be team first. These are the kind of players and coaches that we want -- people who believe in and see this as the vision, the foundation and the building blocks for the program. That was the first talk."

Reich's confidence and belief in his players was put in the national spotlight when he went for it and failed on fourth-and-4 at his own 43 in overtime of the Colts' Week 4 loss. Reich stood by his decision, even saying in the heat of the moment that he would go for it in that situation 10 out of 10 times. There was no second-guessing from his players in the days after the 37-34 defeat.

"He brings the energy, he brings the fire," linebacker Anthony Walker said. "That's what you want out of your head coach. He's always cool, calm and collected at the same time. He has a good balance. That's what you want."

The Colts have been within seven points of their opponent in the fourth quarter in all five of their losses, and had a chance to win or tie in the final two minutes in four. Those type of situations could take a toll on a team, but players have said Reich's even-keeled approach is one of several factors that has helped to keep this young team together.

"What's the point of panicking? There's no need to panic," tight end Eric Ebron said. "It's early in the season and you know you have a young team. You have to let these people develop and see what it's like. You're going to take some losses. You're going to take some wins, but when you take these losses you learn and improve upon on it and then you see the changes people tell you.

"Frank staying the same is him understanding that we'll be all right. He sees it. He sees what we go through. Frank has no reason to worry. I wouldn't be."