The Colts Coaching Staff [Mega-merge]

[Bond Shane]

To all the Caldwell apologists: Can you give me the name of a coach who has gotten less out of the talent he has available this season?

We have ONE guy less than last year and you cant re-adjust your team and win one game?.

Lets just say its really bad talent in Caldwell's defense, Polian should go then.

[husker61]

this is very easy. top players don't make good coaches!!!

[KyFan18]

Who's defending -- much less, apologizing for -- Jim Caldwell, or anyone else on our staff?

There are a vocal few on this board who think that Caldwell should come back next year, believe it or not.

[turner46992]

I Like Del Rio as Coordinator personally, but How about have Sanders as our secondary coach. Sapp is a nice thought but I for some reason dont really like Sapp, He was a good player and all I just for some reason cant stand sapp.

[Andy]

I wouldn't like SApp to become the DC, maybe a DC assistant, but having that responsibility is too much for a guy who's never coached before. Plus he doesn't know defensive schemes that well. That old Tampa stuff is outdated.

[Smitto]

I think he'll feel bad about getting fired no matter when you do it. He should feel bad already, seeing as how he's the coach of a team that hasn't won a game in three months. It's not your job to protect his self-esteem. It's your job to steward the franchise. If you think changing coaches now can help you either win now or prove to your players that 0-13 isn't acceptable, then you do it now. Has nothing to do with how the coach might feel. As a matter of fact, it might help him land another job before positions fill up.

Also, firing your coach now has nothing to do with what other teams do with their coaches. If you're going to fire him, what's the point in waiting? If you've already made your mind up, he's lame duck anyways.

I don't think the front office has their minds made up just yet, though. Which sort of bothers me.

It doesnt make any sense to fire jim caldwell now, bringing in a coach now to a team thats in shambles during the season makes no sense what so ever... a coach cant implement anything during the season.. who cares about his feelings, what im saying is firing caldwell now will not change or alter anything.. i mean who are you gonna hire? right now there arent any really good coaches out there, you HAVE to wait till after the superbowl which is when coaches get evaluated and then you can go after coaches.. that is the way things should be done.

[Andy]

OP -- You have to keep in mind that Tebow has running ability and skill... more than Orlovsky and Painter. Coaching helps too but they're just better overall than us. Everybody on their team is playing well and producing; the same can't be said for us.

[Smitto]

1. Will he feel better himself after a 0-16 season?

2. Which team would hire a 0-16 Coach?

Anyway You are right. He should have been fired after New Orleans disaster, but know...? It would make no difference firing him right now or 3 games later.

Well, he should be fired but just not now.. you have to wait till the offseason so you can see all the coaches that will be let go or willing to move to a head coaching job.... now? its just slim pickings

[21isSuperman]

I didn't realize how many people didn't like Sapp. I personally really like him. I think he is a funny guy and he knows what he is talking about. He also has a lot of good things to say about some Colts, like Peyton and Freeney.

I wouldn't say the Tampa 2 stuff is outdated. We are just too conservative with it.

[LUVTHESHOE]

First you can't approach another teams coaching staff during the season because it would be considered tampering. The reason you fire a coach midseason to see if new leadership can get the team inspired, ie Frank Vogel of the Pacers. I am of the opinion that there is nobody on the current staff worthy of being a head coach so firing Caldwell won't accomplish anything. I am also of the opinion that Jim Irsay needs to fire the Polians and the coaching staff. As far as a front office replacements I'm in the dark, hopefully Jimmy would have some ideas. When Dungy left I was hoping for Jim Harbaugh but I figured it would happen because Polian is the one who ran Harbaugh out of town. Jim has a coaching pedigree and he turned 2 bottom of the conference college teams into conference contenders. Not sure anybody really stands out in the Pros and college looks even more bleak. The only person out of college I would consider is Les Steckle at LSU. He took over a program made good by Lou Saban and has not let it deteriorate so he is doing something right.

do you maybe mean, les miles? if so i agree

[LUVTHESHOE]

I've been thinking about this for a while. Who should the Colts hire as the full time defensive coordinator? Yeah, guys like Del Rio are there and they would probably do alright. But I'm going to go outside the box on this one. What does everyone think on:

1. Bob Sanders. He hasn't been able to stay healthy, but he does know our team/defense well. He also has an aggressive mindset, which is missing from our coaching staff. I'm a little iffy on giving him the defensive coordinator spot to start since he has no experience coaching in the NFL. I wouldn't mind seeing him as the DB coach or defensive quality control coach or something to that effect, then getting promoted if he does well.

2. Warren Sapp. Our DT play (from what I've seen) is poor, something he could fix. He has also been on one of the greatest defenses ever in the 2002 Bucs, so he knows what it takes to be successful and work together as a good defensive unit. He also has a pretty aggressive mentality and he seems like he can a player's coach, but also knows when it's time to get down to business (this is just going off of what I've seen/heard from him on NFL Network and No Huddle, so it could all be incorrect). He also played in a similar system to ours, the Tampa 2, so he would know what works and what doesn't.

What do you guys think? Feel free to add anyone else you would like to see.

after hearing BP tonight , he seems pleased with the way things are looking on D, SAYS WE ARE JUST YOUNG.

[torgodog]

To all the Caldwell apologists: Can you give me the name of a coach who has gotten less out of the talent he has available this season?

Ray Rychleski.

[Ramblinwreck7]

You want them to adjust? How? You have built an offense to play one way. You can not cram a square peg into a round hole no matter how hard you try. Exactly what do you want them to do? You want change, so what kind of change? run the ball more? Our offense isn't built to run the ball that much. Change pass routes? What does it matter if your QB can't get them the ball? Play a new style of defense? Sure but if you don't have the talent to do it, what is the point. The Colts drafted specific players to play one way. Now you expect them to just change things up like that? NFL teams just can't change like that. Denver is winning because of schedule and defense, not their offense.

You have the creativity of a non-creative person... ;)

I could make several changes to our offense:

1. We could run more playaction bootleg passes, very similar to the Texans, if we are running the ball effectively which we have done pretty well this year.

2. We could throw some more screen passes to the runningbacks and we need to use the WR bubble screen more.

3. We need to throw the ball down the field. Stretch the defense. The opposing teams defenses know we are going to throw short, quick passes so they play aggessively. We simply need to throw more intermediate to deep passes. If we don't have good pass protection to do that, then that's where the plaction and the playaction bootleg comes in handy.

4. Run a couple of WR reverses a game.

5. And for some fun, do a halfback pass from Joseph Addai to a TE or receiver, maybe even back to the quarterback. We did it a long time ago if I remember right and Addai played quarterback in high school I think. If you can't win a game by execution, then you have to make things happen. The players would love to do this, not to mention the fans.

[Ramblinwreck7]

You have the creativity of a non-creative person... ;)

I could make several changes to our offense:

1. We could run more playaction bootleg passes, very similar to the Texans, if we are running the ball effectively which we have done pretty well this year.

2. We could throw some more screen passes to the runningbacks and we need to use the WR bubble screen more.

3. We need to throw the ball down the field. Stretch the defense. The opposing teams defenses know we are going to throw short, quick passes so there secondaries play aggessively. We simply need to throw more intermediate to deep passes. If we don't have good pass protection to do that, then that's where the plaction and the playaction bootleg comes in handy.

4. Run a couple of WR reverses a game.

5. And for some fun, do a halfback pass from Joseph Addai to a TE or receiver, maybe even back to the quarterback. We did it a long time ago if I remember right and Addai played quarterback in high school I think. If you can't win a game by execution, then you have to make things happen. The players would love to do this, not to mention the fans.

[vitoaf27]

Do people really believe that it's this easy to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL? If so, why fire Christensen in the first place? Anyone can be the offensive coordinator as long as we have Peyton, right?

I generally wholeheartedly agree with everything you say, and I think you're one of the most rational and knowledgeable fans on the forum. However, there is countless amounts of evidence out there that suggests that Peyton really does run the offense.

I can't name sources as I never have bothered keeping tabs of where I've read things like this, but I believe it's something like Peyton changes something about the play 98% of the time.

I recently read an article or something that was a few years old regarding Peyton and the offense. I can't remember who was speaking (I believe it was Christensen from when he was QB coach), but the speaker claimed that Peyton comes to the meetings with a gameplan, and the other coaches kind of alter it and give their input. He develops the gameplan based on what HE sees in film that HE watches in his own private time. Isn't that the offensive coordinator's job?

It's also been stated, again I don't know where, that Peyton and Christensen don't get along very well--can't remember if I read that on this forum by a fan or if I read that from a credible source.

Finally, I think it's obvious that the gameplans this year on offense have been completely and utterly ineffective and not properly prepared. Going from top 2 or 3 in the league in every major offensive stat over the last decade to almost last in those same statistics this year is evident of that. Also, any knowledgeable sports fan can easily see that from watching the games. How did this happen? We go from having some of the best gameplans and in-game adjustments in the league to some of the worst gameplans and adjustments in the league, simply by losing Peyton. If that isn't evident enough that Peyton has been doing the OC's job the past number of years--at least Christensen's job--then I don't know what is.

To conclude, this offense could be even better with a good OC. We don't need a good OC as long as we have Peyton, but if we want to lighten the load and pressure on Peyton we should consider getting a real OC. Not only that, but assuming this OC is going to assume his role through the end of Peyton's career and into the next starting QB's career, I would like a legit OC not only to help that young QB out, but to already have HIS offensive system in place by the time the new QB takes over.

[vitoaf27]

Ray Rychleski.

That's not true. Rychleski is known around the league as a good ST coach. The fact of the matter is that he is given crappy players to work with. Therefore, he has done a crappy job. If decent players were thrown on our ST, and we were still performing as poorly as we have, THEN I would agree that he hasn't done much with talent that he has been given.

This is just an assumption, but I believe that the good ST's around the league most likely use some of their starters on ST. I could be completely off base on that, though.

[Malakai432]

That's not true. Rychleski is known around the league as a good ST coach. The fact of the matter is that he is given crappy players to work with. Therefore, he has done a crappy job. If decent players were thrown on our ST, and we were still performing as poorly as we have, THEN I would agree that he hasn't done much with talent that he has been given.

This is just an assumption, but I believe that the good ST's around the league most likely use some of their starters on ST. I could be completely off base on that, though.

He might've been known in college as a good ST coach. His NFL career has been different. Colts special teams have been horrendous for years though even before him, thus I'm not sure what to make of him lol!!!

[Andy]

I didn't realize how many people didn't like Sapp. I personally really like him. I think he is a funny guy and he knows what he is talking about. He also has a lot of good things to say about some Colts, like Peyton and Freeney.

I wouldn't say the Tampa 2 stuff is outdated. We are just too conservative with it.

Hey I love Sapp, it's not that we don't like him, is just that he's not experienced as a coach and he seems happy as an analyst at NFL Network

That's really all Sapp knows, the Tampa 2. Even then, we don't even have close to the personnel that the 02 Bucs had. Sapp is smart and knows the Colts pretty well, but he's no coach and how will he devise gameplans against high flying offenses. He may help out the DT play but he won't help our secondary, which is our biggest weakness right now. I like the creativity, but it won't work, plus is he even on the market? The same with Bob Sanders...

...Sanders may retire and if he does, I would love to see him on the coaching staff, except not as a D-coordinator, maybe as a defensive consultant or an assistent DBs coach and eventually the DBs coach. Now the question is: will he retire?

[storm1580]

If he's not fired this season, then I fear he won't be at all. If Manning comes back to save the day, he'll make Caldwell look good, and his job will be saved. Manning will only be able to do so much, and he will not see a second ring, due to poor coaching. :nono2: Far fetched? maybe... but i could see Peyton saving his job. Yeah, Manning is that good.

[unitaswestand]

Haley was a product of having Kurt Warner on the team. I think even Jim Caldwell would look good as a OC if Kurt Warner was throwing to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquin Bolden. You see what happened to the Cards once Warner retired. He was a terribly overrated coach.

[HungarianColtsFan]

Well, he should be fired but just not now.. you have to wait till the offseason so you can see all the coaches that will be let go or willing to move to a head coaching job.... now? its just slim pickings

Neither I think he will be fired now. If it would happen, would be in the off-season.

[bayone]

the announcements by the Dolphins and Chiefs that both teams will be going in a new direction with a new head man, Indianapolis may be forced to act and do so quickly.

Jacksonville fired coach Jack Del Rio last month,

If the Colts are sincere about keeping Jim Caldwell, today's firings are a mute point. But if the Colts were planning a more wait-and-see approach, they might not have the luxury of time. Preeminent head coaches don't last long in the NFL as evidenced by the Dolphins and Chiefs decisions to make moves now to ensure they have the first crack at landing one of the three highly coveted candidates on the market in Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher and Jeff Fisher.

Of course there are a lot of good coaches out there, but these three guys are the biggest fish and Kansas City and the Dolphins are both hoping to make big splashes.

For Miami the front runner seems to be former Titans coach Jeff Fisher which is particularly bad news for the Colts.

Currently Fisher makes the most sense as Gruden has indicated he wants to stay on with ESPN as a broadcaster for Monday Night Football and Bill Cowher wants a better quarterback than Matt Moore and more institutional control than GM Jeff Ireland is likely willing to hand over.

Even were the Colts to stick with Caldwell , the Colts will at least be in the market for a defensive coordinator.

One such candidate would be Kirk Ferentz, a guy who has built strong defenses at Iowa and given the Colts track record with the Hawkeyes, knows Indianapolis well.

He too though is being courted by the Chiefs, another indication that the ripple effects may already be occurring.

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2011/12/13/2632379/will-coaching-change...

[bayone]

• A caller asked Polian if Caldwell will be fired . Polian responded, 'My fervent hope is that Jim's job is not in jeopardy because my fervent hope is that we don't go 0-16, and we're doing everything we can to try and avoid that.'
  
• 
  
• Polian then said the coaches made the decision to bench Painter. For Polian, Painter's play was 'really pretty good' in his first four games
  
• 
  
• Polian said the Colts were planning to draft T.J. Yates in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. TheTexans took him earlier. Polian said that the Colts should have taken Yates earlier. Ironically, Houston drafted Yates in the 5th Round using the draft pick the Colts sent to the Washington Redskins in the trade for Ben Ijalana. Ijalana has bee out since Week Four with a knee injury
  
• 
  
• Polian: It makes me feel bad that good players and good coaches are suffering on the Colts because of decisions we made in the front office..
  
• 
  
• Polian said that if the Colts draft a QB in the first round next year, and that QB plays, the Colts 'will struggle.' ( like we arent now )
  

• Drake Nevis might be 'keystone' to build defensive line around, said Polian.
  
• 
  
  • As part of the 'what needs to improve,' Polian singled out punter Pat McAfee and said he must get better as a directional and strategic punter. ( HE IS A PRO BOWLER TO ME of all players to take a shot at )
    
  • 
    

  [*]SEE ARTICLE for other notes

http://www.stampedeb...ow-week-14-2011

[mark_dk]

• A caller asked Polian if Caldwell will be fired . Polian responded, 'My fervent hope is that Jim's job is not in jeopardy because my fervent hope is that we don't go 0-16, and we're doing everything we can to try and avoid that.'
  
• 
  
• Polian then said the coaches made the decision to bench Painter. For Polian, Painter's play was 'really pretty good' in his first four games
  
• 
  
• Polian said the Colts were planning to draft T.J. Yates in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. TheTexans took him earlier. Polian said that the Colts should have taken Yates earlier. Ironically, Houston drafted Yates in the 5th Round using the draft pick the Colts sent to the Washington Redskins in the trade for Ben Ijalana. Ijalana has bee out since Week Four with a knee injury
  
• 
  
• Polian: It makes me feel bad that good players and good coaches are suffering on the Colts because of decisions we made in the front office..
  
• 
  
• Polian said that if the Colts draft a QB in the first round next year, and that QB plays, the Colts 'will struggle.' ( like we arent now )
  

• Drake Nevis might be 'keystone' to build defensive line around, said Polian.
  
• 
  
  • As part of the 'what needs to improve,' Polian singled out punter Pat McAfee and said he must get better as a directional and strategic punter.
    
  • 
    

  [*]SEE ARTICLE for other notes

http://www.stampedeb...ow-week-14-2011

I just vomitted after reading this!

He's hoping for us to win one single game so that he won't look bad and his puppet won't be fired.

Did he really call out McAfee? Maybe he should get down on the sideline to watch games since he clearly can't get a clue of what happens on the field from his skybox.

[bayone]

CONTINUED ( I was editing but got cut off & lost some though some were in responce above )

• As part of the 'what needs to improve,' Polian singled out punter Pat McAfee and said he must get better as a directional and strategic punter. ( HE IS A PRO BOWLER TO ME of all players to take a shot at ) see Pats responce below
  
• -
  
• Drake Nevis might be 'keystone' to build defensive line around, said Polian.
  

Polian said that if the Colts draft a QB in the first round next year, and that QB plays, the Colts 'will struggle.' ( like we arent now )

.

SEE ARTICLE for other notes

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2011/12/12/2631885/recap-of-the-bill-po...

Here's Pat: tweeting back

Heard what boss said on his show..Respect his opinion..Best hangtime in league and top 10 in punts out of bounds..Can always get better.

Bill Polian also said, and this is a direct quote, that it is his 'fervent hope that Jim Caldwell is not fired.'

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2011/12/12/2631642/bill-polian-takes-a-...

[HungarianColtsFan]

The only problem is, that no statement, tweet or leaked information indicates that there would be any intent to change HC.

Latest after NO game major changes should have been made.

I think, only in the off season will be new HC named, if there would be any change...

[swflacoltsfans]

Sad. Just sad that Irsay is willing to accept this type of performance. Put down the ipad Irsay and act like an owner.

[Fx Stryker]

That is nuts. Call out the one guy who is actually excelling at his duties.

[JColts72]

You mean Irsay ahs to stop tweeting. His father would have canned Caldwell weeks ago, as he di to McCaffrey in 72

[JColts72]

Polian needs to have one of Mcafee's punts land him on his head to knock some sense into him. So a new QB and we'll struggle (WOW)- Maybe Irsay "Mr. Tweet," has to remind him his team his 0 and 13, and not 13 and 0. I guess Poian carries the Snow White mirror which tells him whatever delusional thoughts he wants to hear.

[Fatboyslim11]

• A caller asked Polian if Caldwell will be fired . Polian responded, 'My fervent hope is that Jim's job is not in jeopardy because my fervent hope is that we don't go 0-16, and we're doing everything we can to try and avoid that.'
  
• 
  
• Polian then said the coaches made the decision to bench Painter. For Polian, Painter's play was 'really pretty good' in his first four games
  
• 
  
• Polian said the Colts were planning to draft T.J. Yates in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. TheTexans took him earlier. Polian said that the Colts should have taken Yates earlier. Ironically, Houston drafted Yates in the 5th Round using the draft pick the Colts sent to the Washington Redskins in the trade for Ben Ijalana. Ijalana has bee out since Week Four with a knee injury
  
• 
  
• Polian: It makes me feel bad that good players and good coaches are suffering on the Colts because of decisions we made in the front office..
  
• 
  
• Polian said that if the Colts draft a QB in the first round next year, and that QB plays, the Colts 'will struggle.' ( like we arent now )
  

• Drake Nevis might be 'keystone' to build defensive line around, said Polian.
  
• 
  
  • As part of the 'what needs to improve,' Polian singled out punter Pat McAfee and said he must get better as a directional and strategic punter. ( HE IS A PRO BOWLER TO ME of all players to take a shot at )
    
  • 
    

  [*]SEE ARTICLE for other notes

http://www.stampedeb...ow-week-14-2011

I just had an epiphany. Polian is actually joking with us and just saying those things to rile his critics. There is no way a competent GM would say and do the things he does so it has to be a joke.

[antipatriot]

Wow Bill is really living in a world of his own. Mcafee has been a bright spot all year and not only does he kick he tackles unlike many others. If we dont fire Caldwell it will be very dissapointing, I blame this mess on the front office however the lack of coaching ability is very apparent. We should have at least won a game by now. I do believe that drafting a QB and having him sit is the right move I think that new QB's no matter how much upside should sit for at least a season, like any new job there is a learning curve.

I just hope Bill and Jim get off of that planet there on right now and come down to earth for a taste of reality.

[Fatboyslim11]

Caldwell just isn't cut out to be an NFL head coach. He and his staff have proven they lack the basics of - outdated scheming, poor in-game adjustments, inability to adapt the offense to the talent (such as it is), no independence in making Xs and Os decisions without the approval of the Vice Chairman and just plain lack of coaching ability.

You cannot go 0 for the season even with the loss of your franchise player. The team is very poorly prepared every week and the head coach need to be accountable and if he can't fix the problem as Caldwell clearly cannot do, it is time to fire him.

[jwilli69]

My god, Polian has officially fallen off the edge. He needs to be checked for alzheimers because this man is recalling the teams of his distant fast and nothing about what is going on with his team of the now. Classic signs point towards that. I honestly wished Irsay would pull Polian aside and just tell him to STHU and quit talking, your ticking off the base. It is almost like a politician walking up to a unemployment line and telling the people out of jobs, you all aren't really out of a job, your on vacation so enjoy the time off. God I can't stand this man and each day and each sound bite, it just gets worse. And I bought this jag a beer way back in the day when they were in Terre Haute. What a waste of good beer

[sfergson727]

Someone needs to take Bill to the hospital and have him evaluated for signs of a stroke. If he checks out normal, he needs to be axed along with Caldwell, he is that out of touch.

Dang it. beat to the punch again, that's twice in two days! Great minds think a like I guess....

[Dustin]

Haley was a product of having Kurt Warner on the team. I think even Jim Caldwell would look good as a OC if Kurt Warner was throwing to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquin Bolden. You see what happened to the Cards once Warner retired. He was a terribly overrated coach.

He helped Matt Cassel become a pro-bowler.

[oldunclemark]

With KC and Miami firing their head coaches, it occurred to me that now there are going to be at least three teams needing a head coach. Assuming that Caldwell has no future with the Colts, and I pray to God that he doesn't, then wouldn't it make sense to start pursuing a replacement now rather than later? With three other teams in competition for a few quality individuals out there and available, I would hope that we don't miss out because we waited until it was too late.

What do you guys think? Is this a valid concern or not? Food for thought at any rate....

I've never understaood firing coaches during the season unless you felt you could make the playoffs with a new man...

We're just trying to win one.. Keep,caldwell..and maybe they'll try to win one for him...

there's no great coach out there who we cant get .....remember who our QB is or will be.

We can make changes in the off-season...

[sfergson727]

Wow, I guess my gut instincts aren't so far off afterall. Let's hope they act sooner than later in getting rid of Caldwell.

[poison1982]

I think that the time is now to make such a move. Even if the Colts can squeak out a win in the final final 3 weeks, Caldwell needs to find a new job. He has taken the team that Tony Dungy built and drove into the ground. Maybe if he would have put a little bit more enthusiasm into his performance he might have a leg to stand on. I just don't see Caldwell as HC material. I think that if the Colts put it off, making a switch, they will end up not being able to sign a good HC or DC. They will end up losing out on a top tier HC. I personal think that they should look at Cowher or maybe Fisher. Please don't try and use the "Next Man Up" in this situation.

[MTC]

Ehh idk about Bob Sanders, he might get injured coaching.