INDIANAPOLIS -- DeForest Buckner likely will never forget his rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers.
That 2016 campaign was marked by one perfectly awful performance after another, with the Niners losing 13 consecutive games. There were the four games in which San Francisco yielded 40 points or more. And on four occasions, Niners opponents accumulated more than 500 yards in a single game.
Now, years later, Buckner -- an All-Pro defensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts -- has one defining memory of that 2-14 season: The fallout.
“The end of that year, seeing all the turnover, it was crazy,” Buckner said.
Buckner’s current team is enduring its roughest period in years, with a whirlwind of recent moves, including last week’s benching of quarterback Matt Ryan, the firing of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady and the trade of running back Nyheim Hines on Tuesday. Buckner is using the opportunity to impart some key lessons from his difficult 2016 season on his younger teammates in Indianapolis.
His message: This is no time to lose focus, because your very own fate could be impacted by what you do now. Take it from Buckner. Only nine of the 22 starters on offense and defense returned from that 2016 49ers team. Coach Chip Kelly was fired. So, too, was general manager Trent Baalke.
“That was a wakeup call, seeing how much of a business it was,” Buckner said. “You’re being evaluated each and every day.”
The Colts are 3-4-1 heading into Sunday’s game at the New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET, CBS). Their situation is not yet as dire as that 49ers squad, which finished with the worst record in the NFC. But the Colts’ recent upheaval speaks to the team’s level of disappointment in its results and creates considerable doubt about what might lie ahead.
That, Buckner said, raises the stakes for everyone.
“I did everything I could do to make sure I took care of my business (back in 2016),” Buckner said. “And, for me, that means play hard no matter the situation.”
Many of Buckner’s younger teammates are getting their own education right now. For quarterback Sam Ehlinger, he’s adjusting to a new role (Sunday’s game will be his second start) while also absorbing the massive changes happening around him. Particularly notable for Ehlinger is the timing of Brady’s firing, coming just two days after Ehlinger made the first start of his career. The two worked closely together during the game-planning process, so Ehlinger will be among those most impacted by the move.
One week into his tenure as the starter, Ehlinger’s capacity for compartmentalization is already being tested.
“Obviously, [I’m] learning a lot,” Ehlinger said. “Haven’t been exposed to this level of the business aspect of sport, but controlling what I can control and making sure that my performance and preparation is what I’m focused on.”
Colts coach Frank Reich didn’t deny it’s a pivotal moment. When players convened for Wednesday morning’s team meeting, Reich knew he couldn’t dodge the issue.
“Stay united,” he told them. “Stay united and keep fighting. Unite and fight. Everybody do your job.”
Reich was asked if the message was getting through.
“We’ll find out,” he said. “I mean, I do think it’s an effective message … We’re very disgusted with where we are at right now with our record, but I believe everybody has the mindset like we’re going to get back on track. Today. Start today.”
But current circumstances don’t affect just players. The focus of other staff members has been tested this week, too. They had built relationships with Brady, and his departure hit them on a personal level.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley recalled a lesson he learned back in his first season in the NFL with the Buccaneers in 2006. He’d worked only in the college ranks until then, but his eyes were immediately opened by the business aspect of the pro game.
“They come to you and say, ‘Hey, Gus, you’ve got Player X that’s coming into the building,’” he said. “… And then, two days later, he’s gone. That happened quite a bit, and I was like, ‘Oh, boy, I’m not sure the NFL is right for me.’
“[Linebacker] Derrick Brooks pulled me aside and said, ‘You’re struggling with this, aren’t you?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘You know what? We understand the business. We understand that we can be here and then be gone. If you can just, while we’re here, pour your heart and soul into us, we understand the business. Just do that.’ So, that’s what I try to do.”
For the Colts’ players, they must employ Brooks’ unwavering approach, understanding that their futures could be impacted by how they perform the rest of the season. Two consecutive seasons of underwhelming results would not come without consequences.
They have two choices: Perform at a consistent level or brace for the realities that result from falling short.
“We're in a results-based business,” linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “When you don't have the results … everybody expects of you and that you're looking for, things like that tend to happen.”