Inside the ‘Beautiful Mind’ of Colts assistant Diego Ortiz

You can learn all you need to about Diego Ortiz from how he introduced himself as a new Texas Tech graduate student in 2015:

“Hello, my name is Diego. I was born and raised in Mexico. I’ve been in Texas for two weeks now, and I want to be a football coach.”

Nine years and three master’s degrees later, Ortiz is a regular at the Indianapolis Colts‘ offensive coordinator’s booth on fall Sunday afternoons assisting with quality control, having distinguished himself in the world of American football on his way to becoming what is believed to be the first coach known to have been born and raised in Mexico on an NFL staff.

“Everyone found it a bit curious, because that’s how I would introduce myself during the first few days of class,” Ortiz told ESPN Deportes, who profiled the Colts’ 34-year-old Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellow for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Ortiz’s journey toward his goal is paved with many of the same virtues found in other coaches hungry for a shot: commitment, passion, an aptitude for learning and a willingness to jump on opportunities. Those who mentored the Mexico City native say that what has made him stand out are an encyclopedic knowledge of the game and a persistent work ethic that drove Ortiz to seize a mile when given an inch, leaving a lasting impression along the way.

“We would walk into his office, and he’d have a thousand plays, like ‘A Beautiful Mind’ written all over the whiteboard,” said Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who as Texas Tech’s head coach gave Ortiz his first opportunity in 2016. “He has a true passion for it. You could ask him about any play, any game, any score, like he is more locked in on football of probably anybody I’ve ever been around.”

Football’s global popularity and initiatives have nevertheless translated into limited pathways for international players and coaches. Ortiz, a former college football quarterback who also spent time as a youth coach in Mexico, was acutely aware that he was entering a world in which he’d have to make a name for himself all over again in a country where his sport is king. But those who have witnessed his ascension from Mexico City to Indianapolis believe he has arrived.

Drawing it up

High school football programs are rare in Mexico, but youth clubs have been around for decades. Growing up in Mexico City, Ortiz played quarterback for Club Gamos at every level before joining Pumas Acatlán, which represents the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s satellite campus in Naucalpan. He was QB1 on a team that competed in the Liga Mayor, Mexico’s most prestigious collegiate circuit.

“I was always fascinated by the X’s and O’s of football and the other sports I played as a kid,” said Ortiz, who also participated in baseball and tennis. “I quickly realized this is what I liked the most about the sport and that I wanted to be a coach.”

At Texas Tech, Ortiz’s road toward his goal began as an unpaid recruitment and operations intern, organizing paperwork and handling other internal duties. It was commonplace for senior members of Kingsbury’s coaching staff who arrived before sunrise to find Ortiz already in the building.

“I started to do these little jobs, and it went well. I would watch games and scout them, and in my free time, watch videos from prior seasons and start learning the terminology for plays, concepts and routes,” Ortiz said. “I wanted to be ready for when an opportunity presented itself.”

Ortiz would often mirror Kingsbury’s morning routine and arrive at the team’s facilities by 4 a.m. since he had not yet been granted a keycard, said Diego’s father, Guillermo Ortiz. If he couldn’t sync his arrival with Kingsbury’s, he would wait outside and brave the elements until an authorized staff member could let him in.

Meanwhile, the head coach began to take notice.

“His work ethic was amazing,” Kingsbury said. “He was one of the first few in the building, one of the last to leave. and he was doing it for free at that point as a student assistant. So you could tell that he was eaten up by it and had a real thirst for knowledge and love for the game.”

Upon completing the first of his three master’s degrees from Tech in 2018, Ortiz was ready to dedicate himself fully to football. He earned a promotion after one season to quality control assistant, which entails assembling scouting reports, transcribing game plans for coaches and scribbling out practice schedules down to the last detail. It’s a perfect role for potential coaches looking to immerse themselves in a game plan’s finer points. Current NFL head coaches Mike McCarthy, Sean McVay, Robert Saleh and Kyle Shanahan all handled quality control duties as they worked their way up to the top of the ladder.

Texas ties that bind

Ortiz and Kingsbury still keep in touch, their text chain littered with memories of the pupil’s whiteboard left for the master to evaluate. Ortiz stayed on at Tech after Kingsbury left for the NFL in 2018 and worked under multiple coaching staffs, first under Matt Wells and later Joey McGuire.

“He biked everywhere. So if you were coming in early, you can bet that you’re going to see Diego on his bike riding in,” McGuire said. “You kind of expected it every day. We’re early. I know Kingsbury is an early guy. And so, you can always bet you saw Diego biking in.”

There is perhaps no better place to showcase football’s dominance than in Texas, where even high school teams enjoy state-of-the-art stadiums and infrastructure. That Ortiz gained enough credibility to work in one of the state’s Power 5 football programs while coming from a country where another type of football is the national pastime speaks to his thirst for the game.

As a youngster, Ortiz dreamed of becoming the next Drew Brees, a Texas native who starred at Westlake High School near Austin before playing college ball at Purdue and eventually becoming one of the NFL’s most prolific passers with the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints. Those dreams gave way to a passion often cited as a reason Ortiz was able to blend into Texas’ football culture and make his eventual jump to the NFL.

“Without a doubt, Texas high school coaches and guys that love this game respect and are open to guys that have a phenomenal work ethic and guys that are passionate about the game,” McGuire said. “And that’s who Diego is. He is extremely passionate about football. He is a learner.”

Building a ‘library of knowledge’

Putting together an NFL playbook requires a massive amount of information. Coaches and players are obligated to be familiar with every detail. Ortiz is the type to happily volunteer to devour every page.

“I would come in and you see that he was pulling up film of NFL teams, and he would have a nice little chart on his wall of teams he wanted to evaluate. So initially I thought this is a guy who just wants to learn as much football as possible,” said Colts running backs coach DeAndre Smith, one of Ortiz’s several Texas Tech connections. “He was just building his library of knowledge.”

Smith and Ortiz were together at Texas Tech from 2019 to 2021. Their current boss, Colts head coach Shane Steichen, is known for his creative use of the run game while serving as offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Chargers. His schemes often include run-pass options that until recently were more common in the college game.

“If you can know [Diego] like we did, he’s been phenomenal. Just brilliant, really smart,” Steichen said. “He’ll do whatever you ask. There’s a lot of the operation stuff behind the scenes, breaking down tape scripts, all those types of things. But really detailed.”

Last season, the Colts gave Ortiz his first taste of the NFL when they invited him to training camp as part of the Bill Walsh Coaching Diversity Fellowship, a program focused on giving young minority coaches the opportunity to gain experience.

Smith was key to helping him transition to the pros. In his first season as part of the Colts’ staff, he keyed Ortiz in on the program and allowed him to observe 17 days of team practices during camp.

In his current role, Ortiz has immersed himself in absorbing the breadth of the Colts’ playbook.

“There’s no doubt that [Diego] could go in and install Kingsbury’s offense,” McGuire said. “And, you know, I would think call it and execute it at a very high level. He is a guy that has studied it and has gone all-in. And I think that’s how he lives his life. You know, he’s a lifelong learner.”

Opportunity knocks

The Colts’ own Tony Dungy Diversity Coaching Fellowship, named after their Hall of Fame coach who was the first African American to win a Super Bowl, also aims to offer a support system for young minority coaches. Ortiz was announced as a recipient last April, giving him his most recent opportunity in the NFL.

“When the Tony Dungy [Fellowship] came up and we interviewed him for that, obviously we had experience with him from the year before,” Steichen said. “We had him in as the Bill Walsh [recipient] last year. And the way he worked in Walsh deal was incredible. He was always trying to do different things, anything he could do to help.”

Many of Ortiz’s former colleagues and players at Texas Tech were thrilled for him, including former Red Raiders running back Tahj Brooks, a second-team preseason All-American:

Proud of my Guy 💙 https://t.co/gudK3FMvWn

— Tahj Brooks (@just_tahj) April 22, 2024

At least three former Tony Dungy recipients have latched on to the NFL in different capacities. That bodes well for Ortiz, whose dedication and zeal for football have served as the ideal calling card and have prompted those around him to predict bigger and better things.

“Whether he gets a shot in the NFL first or has to go back to college to [coach his] own room as a position coach, that’s the only part to me that’s left for him … to get in there and cut his teeth on coaching on his own room,” Kingsbury said. “And then he’ll do a great job at that.”

ESPN Deportes’ Carlos A. Nava and NFL Nation reporters John Keim and Stephen Holder contributed to this report.