Gil Brandt: Coaches On The Hot Seat. No Caldwell?

[ReMeDy]

http://www.nfl.com/n...?module=HP11_cp

How could Caldwell not even be a consideration!?! It almost seems like Brandt went out of the way to name as many coaches as he could to pad his article and play up to his headline, so why not list Caldwell?

Gary Kubiak?... The Texans are playing just fine! Yes, perhaps there is pressure to make the playoffs and do well, but I could say the same for Caldwell, because the Colts have made the playoffs nine consecutive times, and now we all of a sudden go to being the worst team in the NFL? Anything short of a decent record for the Colts would be a major disappointment, yet here we are not even half way into the season and mathematically we're already close to being eliminated from the playoffs!

Leslie Frazier?... Similar to Caldwell, Frazier is undergoing a transition at QB with the organization having taken Christian Ponder. Frazier also signed onto the Vikings in 2010 - one year after Caldwell signed onto the Colts - which means Caldwell has less of an excuse for the Colts poor record. Hey, at least the Vikings have won a game, which is more than I can say for the Colts!

Todd Haley?... This one is my favorite. According to Gil, "Kansas City can't go from AFC West champ in 2010 to below .500." I agree, but uhh... Hello?... What about Caldwell? Again, the Colts have made the playoffs nine consecutive times, so there are added expectations we continue that trend. Now, not only will we fail those expectations, we're failing them miserably! Similar to Caldwell, Haley is suffering from player injury setbacks, notably to Kansas City's star RB, Jamaal Charles. Furthermore, Kansas City beat the Colts with a terrific 2nd half comeback.

I guess what annoys me is whenever analysts talk about the Colts losing woes, it's always about Peyton Manning. I want more articles talking about how bad JIm Caldwell is! Losing Peyton is only one factor to the equation... The other is Caldwell. I hope Caldwell's seat isn't just hot - I hope it's an inferno.

Edited October 19, 2011 by ReMeDy

[John Waylon]

Caldwell has the ultimate excuse, either way:

"We don't have Peyton."

"Peyton's running the offense, not me!"

Caldwell will not be held accountable for anything.

Polian has already made the excuse for him stating that it's hard to win without Peyton, and then later stating we should be able to win without Peyton, which in theory should place some heat on caldwell. But it's not happening, and we just continue sliding down this slippery slope of double standards. caldwell has Ultimate Job Security.

[Blue Horseshoe]

This football team is 0-6 with very few games ahead where they will be considered the favorite.

If that doesn't put the head coach under some scrutiny then what in the world ever will?

[Coltsman1788]

That's the problem. This is "the season without Peyton". Therefore the focus is on that and not so much on Caldwell. Yes Colts nation is beyond frustrated with Caldwell for well documented reasons. However, most nationally attribute the Colts struggles to be due to not having Peyton Manning. Thus, the focus is not on Caldwell's coaching...yet. He might be given a mulligan for this year unfortunately. I wouldn't be surprised if the Colts front office approached this season as being an unfair one to evaluate Caldwell. Most Colts fans would no doubt disagree but the front office might feel as if no coach could do much better job this season without 18 in the line up. Now if we were failing miserably with Peyton there Caldwell's coaching inadequacies could be pin pointed as the sole cause and there would probably be a lot more heat on Caldwell on a national level.

I have no interest here in defending Caldwell as I am not one of his supporters based on what I've seen over the past few years. My intention is just to point out why the national media probably is not as focused on his alleged deficiencies as us frustrated Colts fans seem to be.

[jbaron04]

caldwell is not on it because managment know what kind of team the put together and manning was the key piece so to blame caldwell would be premature and just use him as the fall man

this team is the same team that has always been bad but manning scores 28 and the def gives up 24. not the def gives up 28 and the offense scores 17 so we are where we are.

ok name all 32 teams starting qb if there where out could the team still win regularly

afc south

colts - peyton ... lol

texans - schuab, with the defense and running game they could

jaguars - gabbert, bearly can win with him

titans - hasselback, if johnson can get back to form they could be ok

afc east

pats - brady, no way the pats def is horrible this year no way the win all them shoot out with out brady thier as bad as us

jets - sanhcez, def and running game could still win

bills - fitpatrick, no bills def give up to much points

dolphins - moore or henne, there worse than us

afc north

steelers - rolisberger, yes did it before maybe not this year def aint what it was

ravens - flacco, with rice and def yes

browns - mccoy, nope

bengals - dalton, top def and rushing attack maybe not to sure

afc west

chargers - rivers , no would win to many

radiers - cambell, yes they can win with run game and def and now plamer if he has anything left

broncos - tebow, cant win with or with out him

cheifs - cassell, cant win with him or with out

nfc east

eagles - vick, nope o line is to bad with out vick superman plays

dallas - romo, nope high powered offense cools down

giants - manning, maybe run game and def maybe

redskins - grossman they might win more with him benched,"CAN NOT PLAY WITH HIM, CAN NOT WIN WITH HIM, CAN NOT COACH WITH HIM CANT DO IT"

nfc south

saints - brees, nope passing offense needs brees

falcons - ryan, no ryan no wins have to pass at some point

panthers - newton, nope no newton no wins

bucks - freeman, wont win manyif any

nfl north

lions - stafford, no cant win many

vikes - mcnabb, maybe well its like hes not playing anyway 100 yards a game

packers - rogers, still can win flinn almost beat pats and good def helps

bears - cutler, if def gets back to form and they ride forte still could pull some out

nfl west

seahawks - jackson, cant win with him

rams - bradford, cant win wth him and jackson cant play defense

49ers - smith, maybe they def and rb are good and backup aint that bad

cards - kobbs, CANT WIN with him and he has larry

[dn4192]

Because Caldwell isn't on the hot seat. People "want" him to be, but he is going no where.

[dn4192]

http://www.nfl.com/n...?module=HP11_cp

How could Caldwell not even be a consideration!?! It almost seems like Brandt went out of the way to name as many coaches as he could to pad his article and play up to his headline, so why not list Caldwell?

Gary Kubiak?... The Texans are playing just fine! Yes, perhaps there is pressure to make the playoffs and do well, but I could say the same for Caldwell, because the Colts have made the playoffs nine consecutive times, and now we all of a sudden go to being the worst team in the NFL? Anything short of a decent record for the Colts would be a major disappointment, yet here we are not even half way into the season and mathematically we're already close to being eliminated from the playoffs!

Leslie Frazier?... Similar to Caldwell, Frazier is undergoing a transition at QB with the organization having taken Christian Ponder. Frazier also signed onto the Vikings in 2010 - one year after Caldwell signed onto the Colts - which means Caldwell has less of an excuse for the Colts poor record. Hey, at least the Vikings have won a game, which is more than I can say for the Colts!

Todd Haley?... This one is my favorite. According to Gil, "Kansas City can't go from AFC West champ in 2010 to below .500." I agree, but uhh... Hello?... What about Caldwell? Again, the Colts have made the playoffs nine consecutive times, so there are added expectations we continue that trend. Now, not only will we fail those expectations, we're failing them miserably! Similar to Caldwell, Haley is suffering from player injury setbacks, notably to Kansas City's star RB, Jamaal Charles. Furthermore, Kansas City beat the Colts with a terrific 2nd half comeback.

I guess what annoys me is whenever analysts talk about the Colts losing woes, it's always about Peyton Manning. I want more articles talking about how bad JIm Caldwell is! Losing Peyton is only one factor to the equation... The other is Caldwell. I hope Caldwell's seat isn't just hot - I hope it's an inferno.

Problem in KC isn't all record. Players and HC having issues. Kubiak is gone if they don't make the playoffs, to much talent there not to win division this year.

[dn4192]

This football team is 0-6 with very few games ahead where they will be considered the favorite.

If that doesn't put the head coach under some scrutiny then what in the world ever will?

Losing with a healthy roster. There is no coach that could win with the present structure of the Colts player wise. When the team was healthy how did they do? That's right went to teh Super Bowl.

[smittywerb]

I feel like if your coach can't be held accountable for certain things then he is not a coach. A coach is suppose to be the leader and stand up when others fall....sounds a lot like Peyton to me. If this team sucks and Caldwell had little to do with why everyone except for maybe 7-10 players suck then he should get a pass. But if he had his hand in this then he and anyone else should feel some heat. YES, Peyton is the GOAT but I'm sure TB is not that far behind him and the Patriots still went 11-5. You surround your superstars with players who can contribute, that's how you win rings. It seems that this team was built to sustain. Only thing that was built around Peyton was his O-Line and WR's. Too bad, we let those players go and now we have this.

But as someone said, because of Peyton, everyone will have an excuse and truthfully, it should not be like that. Peyton is not playing and he still is being pressured.

Edited October 19, 2011 by smittywerb

[deedub75]

Polian should be on the hot seat. He assembled this team that can't win a single game without Manning. Analysts have always said that Colts are a 3 win team without Manning. They were wrong. Apparently Colts are a no win team without Manning.

[Smitto]

This should be no surprise, polian praised caldwell in his show so why should he be on the hot seat now...

[shaunzo]

Ahhh, my favorite thing to type about. If you're making an NFL coach's salary, and don't even produce 1 victory after 7 games, that seat should be flaming hot. Peyton or no Peyton. He's paid to win, and he's not winning, plain and simple.

Also, the team has gotten worse each year since he took over. 14-2 (Super Bowl loss, threw away a perfect season), 10-6 (Barely won division, 1 and done at home after dorky timeout call), and now off to an 0-6 start. Basically, now that I think about it, he's generally been a disappointment. I'm sure there are plenty of college teams out there that'd be happy to have him.

[coltsdan]

Ahhh, my favorite thing to type about. If you're making an NFL coach's salary, and don't even produce 1 victory after 7 games, that seat should be flaming hot. Peyton or no Peyton. He's paid to win, and he's not winning, plain and simple.

Also, the team has gotten worse each year since he took over. 14-2 (Super Bowl loss, threw away a perfect season), 10-6 (Barely won division, 1 and done at home after dorky timeout call), and now off to an 0-6 start. Basically, now that I think about it, he's generally been a disappointment. I'm sure there are plenty of college teams out there that'd be happy to have him.

i doubt that, his record as a college HC wasn't to hot

[rockywoj]

Polian should be on the hot seat. He assembled this team that can't win a single game without Manning. Analysts have always said that Colts are a 3 win team without Manning. They were wrong. Apparently Colts are a no win team without Manning.

Yup, throw him on the hot seat after 10 consecutive playoff performances. I am not a fan of Caldwell, but I think this talk about Polian is utter nonsense. The team he assembled just finished a historic run of virtually unprecedented success. I guess a lot of fans just haven't been around for enough decades to appreciate how special and rare the run over the past decade has been.

[dn4192]

1 losing season and many here really think they have a better way to run the Colts. It's so laughable, this franchise as been one of the top over the past DECADE. Outside of NE and Pitts, please...name me a better ran organization....

[Kalbo]

If Leslie Frazier gets fired by the Vikings, I'd like to see the Colts pick him up to be the next Defensive Coordinator. Sometimes the coaching changes can have a significant impact as well. When the Packers picked up Dom Capers as their DC, it became a huge piece to the puzzle of them winning the Super Bowl.

[Curveball]

1 losing season and many here really think they have a better way to run the Colts. It's so laughable, this franchise as been one of the top over the past DECADE. Outside of NE and Pitts, please...name me a better ran organization....

Amazing, isn't it? A decade of unprecedented success and there are calls for wholesale changes after < half a season that's off to rocky start. Simply amazing.

[Gonzo]

It's the Colts. They'll still be blowing smoke 3 days after they fire him.

[tonychen]

Amazing, isn't it? A decade of unprecedented success and there are calls for wholesale changes after < half a season that's off to rocky start. Simply amazing.

Yes there was a whole decade of success but meanwhile it was a-whole-decade-but-one-year of disappointment with the greatest QB of all time running the offense. This year is exposing why - there are so many holes in the team that even PM could not get more than one ring with this team.

A whole decade of success, sure, but it is only because of PM. Wherever he goes, he will give the team a decade of success. The magic is not here now, and it will no be here after PM retires, unless they can find a talent of his level.

[Blue Horseshoe]

Polian is not the reason this team has had 9 straight playoff appearances. Manning is.

I can't imagine how that could possibly be more apparent.

This season is all about Polian. What type of team has he built beyond Manning?

So far they are 0-6 with very few wins on the radar.

[tonychen]

Polian is not the reason this team has had 9 straight playoff appearances. Manning is.

I can't imagine how that could possibly be more apparent.

This season is all about Polian. What type of team has he built beyond Manning?

So far they are 0-6 with very few wins on the radar.

Cannot agree more, and it is because of this team peyton has only one sb. The team find ways to fall shorts.

[GoColts8818]

Amazing, isn't it? A decade of unprecedented success and there are calls for wholesale changes after < half a season that's off to rocky start. Simply amazing.

and not to mention that coming with the guy who is the most important to part ot the team hurt. There is losing with Peyton and there is losing without Peyton and yes despite what some think there is a difference.

Edited October 21, 2011 by GoColts8818

[John Dee]

Caldwell has the ultimate excuse, either way:

"We don't have Peyton."

"Peyton's running the offense, not me!"

Caldwell will not be held accountable for anything.

Polian has already made the excuse for him stating that it's hard to win without Peyton, and then later stating we should be able to win without Peyton, which in theory should place some heat on caldwell. But it's not happening, and we just continue sliding down this slippery slope of double standards. caldwell has Ultimate Job Security.

The only way Caldwell is in trouble is if he "totally loses this team" the second half of the season. If he keeps them playing hard then he is good as gold.

I don't care for him but I will admit that last season and so far this season he does get them to play hard.

Now strategy and player development are a whole different story he is failing badly at. And this could be attributed to the departure of Moore and Mudd. and Dungy.

So... we shall see.

[John Dee]

and not to mention that coming with the guy who is the most important to part ot the team hurt. There is losing with Peyton and there is losing without Peyton and yes despite what some think there is a difference.

There is a difference. Peyton made everyone's job that much easier.... and as a result I fell the "entire" organization got lax. We truly don't know how good the Polian's and the staff are in the Indy run because of Peyton. He masked blatant deficiencies that were obvious to "unbiased" eye... but they were ignored year after year because "we won".

Now he is gone... and this what we have. A team that did not even know it's backup QB was on the roster after it blows 4 million on a vet. sigh (a move which I agreed with, yet should not have been made if the team was sharp)

I truly think this long run with out 18 will be a blessing NEXT season. Because these players are learning to play without Manning.

But I think there is NO DOUBT the "everyone" got lazy while Peyton was here.

Irsay should give him a % of the team when he retires because he has been worth it.

[oldunclemark]

Because Caldwell isn't on the hot seat. People "want" him to be, but he is going no where.

True words..

We know why we're 0-6....He's standing on the sidelines wearing some of those Brett Farve-style designer blue jeans..