The Colts new offensive coordinator has held the position before. In 2001 Christensen was promoted from QBs coach to Offensive Coordinator for Tony Dungy's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like Dungy, Christensen and the rest of that Bucs O have targets for the Bucs fans' frutrations, but how deserving is that blame?
Year | Christensen | DVOA | Rank | Points | Rank |
1995 | Clemson Co-OC | -12.6% | 27th | 238 | 29th |
1996 | TE Coach | -20.2% | 28th | 221 | 30th |
1997 | TE Coach | -4.1% | 15th | 299 | 23rd |
1998 | TE Coach | -11.0% | 21st | 314 | 18th |
1999 | QB Coach | -17.3% | 21st | 270 | 27th |
2000 | QB Coach | 3.0% | 12th | 388 | 6th |
2001 | O Coordinator | -2.8% | 12th | 324 | 15th |
2002 | In Indy | -2.5% | 21st | 346 | 18th |
2003 | In Indy | -4.5% | 17th | 301 | 18th |
2004 | In Indy | -5.8% | 22nd | 301 | 23rd |
Out of the decade surronding Christensen's time with the Bucs the Christensen Coordinated Bucs O was top 3 in DVOA and Points Scored and top 2 in league rank in both DVOA and Points. His offense wasn't a standout in the league, but for the Bucs, it was a very good offense.
Two other comparisons to roughly gauge style
1999-2000 | 2001 | 2002-2003 | |
Pass/Run | 47-53 | 59-41 | 58-42 |
Yards/Completion | 10.0 | 10.0 | 10.6 |
Christensen's O marked a dramatic shift in playcalling, with the pass going from less than half the plays to nearly 60%. Though he favored the pass Christensen's O didn't attack deep any more so than the previous, run heavy Bucs Os (for comparison last year's Colts averaged 10.6 Y/C).
Christensen's previous stint running an offense suggests he's a better offensive coach than most of what Tampa had before and after him, and that he likes to throw the ball often, but not particularly deep (or not deep particularly often).