Peter King: Polians And Irsay 'want To Keep Jim Caldwell'

[Superman]

Lol i somewhat agree with this... the colts suck this year... period, and i want someone to blame it on... BP has a bad attitude when it comes to the media and fans yet he's good at evaluating players... Caldwell looks like walking manikin on the sidelines but his players like him. No one here can actually judge how the coaches are doing only the FO can but from where im sitting changes have to be made be it up top or on the bottom "meaning the players"

Phil Jackson wrote a book trashing Kobe Bryant. Kobe later begged Phil to come back to coach the Lakers, and they won two more championships together. Two decades before that, Michael Jordan resented Phil Jackson's system, and eight years after that, they had won six championships and Jordan was considered the best player of all time.

So-called "players coaches" have certain benefits at times, but there's a lot to be said about a coach who challenges his best players, who doesn't just acquiesce to ensure that his guys are comfortable, and so on. People always say that Peyton Manning runs the offense, then they turn around and complain that we don't run the ball enough. We've bowed to him, and then we wonder why everything falls apart without him.

[BIGugly]

No one here can actually judge how the coaches are doing....

1-13 doesn't do for ya, huh?

[gspdx]

Our team is not a great car. It's like a Ford Pinto with that flawed gas tank design where a slight impact caused it to explode. Manning out = BOOM! We're a far cry from a great car. We just have a great driver with a few helpers. Every thing else from the front office/coaches to a good chunk of the "talent" we field is like stick on mirrors, "Go faster" paint stripes and Foldgers Coffee Can exhaust openings that add zero power/make your car sound like a leaf blower.

Following this analogy a little farther. If you had the best mechanic in the world and you gave him a Ford Pinto to race he couldn't make it competitive. So to blame it on the mechanic (coach) when you have provided a sub par car (team) is pointless. I'm not saying Caldwell is a great or even a good coach. But some of the points on this thread about us fans not really knowing what is going on are valid. For those of you who think you know what woudl "fix" this team, we are all guessing and spoutiung opinions and not facts.

[JColts72]

I know as a fan a new coach, new assitants and GM will fix things very quickly.

[doogansquest]

I know as a fan a new coach, new assitants and GM will fix things very quickly.

No you don't.

You may not know how to do the job, but you can absoulutely see and evaluate the RESULTS.

You don't have to know how to build brakes on a car, but you darn sure know when they don't work.

As cute as this sounds, it's a poor metaphor.

For one, you only know the brakes don't work when it's you driving the car. You step on the brakes, they don't respond, obviously something is wrong. But what you don't know is WHY they don't work. So you leave that to the experts. You drop off the car, go shopping, or across the street for a coffee, and let someone who is around cars every day - someone who does it for a living and has been doing it for years - figure it out and come up with a solution. You then trust said professional to make the right decision, and pay for services rendered.

You aren't in control of any aspect of the Colts organization, nor are you in direct communication or relation to anyone involved with Jim Caldwell and the Colts. That means that, not only do you not get to feel or experience what isn't responding properly, you don't know why it wasn't working in the first place. You can only see that something's wrong. So drop the "car" off with the professionals (ie: Front Office folk who have been living and breathing the game for years), and go shopping while they fix the real problem.

[Superman]

No you don't.

As cute as this sounds, it's a poor metaphor.

For one, you only know the brakes don't work when it's you driving the car. You step on the brakes, they don't respond, obviously something is wrong. But what you don't know is WHY they don't work. So you leave that to the experts. You drop off the car, go shopping, or across the street for a coffee, and let someone who is around cars every day - someone who does it for a living and has been doing it for years - figure it out and come up with a solution. You then trust said professional to make the right decision, and pay for services rendered.

You aren't in control of any aspect of the Colts organization, nor are you in direct communication or relation to anyone involved with Jim Caldwell and the Colts. That means that, not only do you not get to feel or experience what isn't responding properly, you don't know why it wasn't working in the first place. You can only see that something's wrong. So drop the "car" off with the professionals (ie: Front Office folk who have been living and breathing the game for years), and go shopping while they fix the real problem.

Problem I have with this is that you see front offices lost all the time. Matt Millen was the "professional" in Detroit, and that didn't work out very well. Sometimes you can look at a decision and see that it's not a good one. I obviously trust Irsay and the Polians to do what they think is right, and I think they've earned that right.

[BIGugly]

No you don't.

As cute as this sounds, it's a poor metaphor.

For one, you only know the brakes don't work when it's you driving the car. You step on the brakes, they don't respond, obviously something is wrong. But what you don't know is WHY they don't work. So you leave that to the experts. You drop off the car, go shopping, or across the street for a coffee, and let someone who is around cars every day - someone who does it for a living and has been doing it for years - figure it out and come up with a solution. You then trust said professional to make the right decision, and pay for services rendered.

You aren't in control of any aspect of the Colts organization, nor are you in direct communication or relation to anyone involved with Jim Caldwell and the Colts. That means that, not only do you not get to feel or experience what isn't responding properly, you don't know why it wasn't working in the first place. You can only see that something's wrong. So drop the "car" off with the professionals (ie: Front Office folk who have been living and breathing the game for years), and go shopping while they fix the real problem.

The relationship to brakes is not a complete analysis. What it was meant to point out is I don't have to know what's wrong with the system to know it has failed. Something is wrong with the brakes, and it ain't the window locks. Hope the horn works.

1-13 says something is wrong And it ain't the talent.

Dn didn't get it either, but then she never does.

[Jay305]

From the tweets I read from the host of the show Polian was on on SiriusXM it looks like Caldwell isnt coming back

[Smitto]

1-13 doesn't do for ya, huh?

Nooo not really, just says the colts have a sucky team... no mater what coach you bring in those players are still gonna have to go out there and play, yes that coach might put them in a better position to produce but that dont mean to say caldwell hasnt done that...

with the way the defense played last week NOTHING changed during the week after the baltimore game, they were still playing zone and playing the run... from a fans perspective caldwell doesnt look like a good coach at all.. just like andy reid isnt a good coach WE know that because of all the assets he has on his team yet he cant take advantage of it... unlike the colts who have nothing like that. So yes caldwell deserves some of the blame, and yes he deserves to be fired JUST BECAUSE he's the head coach BUT that doesnt mean firing him will make a difference what so ever.

[Smitto]

Phil Jackson wrote a book trashing Kobe Bryant. Kobe later begged Phil to come back to coach the Lakers, and they won two more championships together. Two decades before that, Michael Jordan resented Phil Jackson's system, and eight years after that, they had won six championships and Jordan was considered the best player of all time.

So-called "players coaches" have certain benefits at times, but there's a lot to be said about a coach who challenges his best players, who doesn't just acquiesce to ensure that his guys are comfortable, and so on. People always say that Peyton Manning runs the offense, then they turn around and complain that we don't run the ball enough. We've bowed to him, and then we wonder why everything falls apart without him.

Idk.... are you saying its caldwells fault ooooor are you saying its because manning isnt there the colts are like this?

[Fatboyslim11]

Caldwell - should he stay or should he go? Peter King think he will stay. On Tuesday's Sirius Blitz NFL radio program Polian hinted that Caldwell would be gone if we finished 1-15. Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, the co-hosts of the program both agreed that is what they interpreted from Polian remarks. Schein has a good track record with getting it right (he predicated the Colts would go no better than 7-9 this season before we knew the extent of Peyton neck injury) and so does Gannon. Soooo who is right? Answer we don't know. I am hoping both Caldwell and the Polians are shown the door but that would be too good of a Christmas present.

[Superman]

Idk.... are you saying its caldwells fault ooooor are you saying its because manning isnt there the colts are like this?

My post above was just saying that I don't think it really matters that "his players seem to like him." That, to me, isn't necessarily a hallmark of a good coach. Not that I don't think a coach should be likeable and have a good working relationship with his players. I just don't think that's a reason to keep a coach on board, especially if there are better options available and he's not doing a good job helping the team win games.

As to your question, I believe both are true. We'd obviously be better if Manning were playing, but I believe a better coach would have at least made adjustments over the course of the season to help us be more competitive. I don't blame all the losses on Caldwell, but there are certainly some that were the fault of poor coaching.

At the same time, I believe part of the reason our offense (and team) is struggling the way it is has to do with Manning's influence over the years. He's great, and we wouldn't have won all the games we did without him, but if you just give in to your best player every time (the way a lot of fans think we should), what happens when he's not around, or when he's not as good as he used to be? The team should reflect the leadership, and leadership has to be heavily influenced by the coaching and the management. The star player should reflect that leadership as well. And this season is a great example of why.

[Superman]

Caldwell - should he stay or should he go? Peter King think he will stay. On Tuesday's Sirius Blitz NFL radio program Polian hinted that Caldwell would be gone if we finished 1-15. Adam Schein and Rich Gannon, the co-hosts of the program both agreed that is what they interpreted from Polian remarks. Schein has a good track record with getting it right (he predicated the Colts would go no better than 7-9 this season before we knew the extent of Peyton neck injury) and so does Gannon. Soooo who is right? Answer we don't know. I am hoping both Caldwell and the Polians are shown the door but that would be too good of a Christmas present.

Doesn't surprise me that no decisions have been made yet, but I would hope that Caldwell is gone. I don't mind the Polians the way you do, but I certainly wouldn't cry for them if they were gone. I would point out, though, that changing management is a much taller order than changing coaching. With a team that has good veteran players like ours, we can be good again next year with just a few adjustments, assuming we get good quarterback play. But if you bring in a new front office, which would include scouting and cap guys and all that, you're going to have a much steeper hill to climb. I don't think Polian is the only person who can run a team, but I'm not so sure that anyone available would be so much better that it would offset the change in direction.

Ideally, I'd like to see Bill retire or at least fade into the background, let Chris have full control, get a new coaching staff, and throw all our eggs in the Manning basket for another couple of seasons (assuming he's healthy). I really like what Chris did with the draft this past offseason, and there's obviously a focus on free agency that's usually not there. Let him make personnel adjustments with scouts and assistants and all that, and see what he can do.

[hawkeyes]

Again - what are they supposed to say? We dont want to keep him.... not going to happen. They will say they want him until hes fired. ;) And I sure hope thats soon!

[hawkeyes]

Again - what are they supposed to say? We dont want to keep him.... not going to happen. They will say they want him until hes fired. ;)

[Smitto]

My post above was just saying that I don't think it really matters that "his players seem to like him." That, to me, isn't necessarily a hallmark of a good coach. Not that I don't think a coach should be likeable and have a good working relationship with his players. I just don't think that's a reason to keep a coach on board, especially if there are better options available and he's not doing a good job helping the team win games.

As to your question, I believe both are true. We'd obviously be better if Manning were playing, but I believe a better coach would have at least made adjustments over the course of the season to help us be more competitive. I don't blame all the losses on Caldwell, but there are certainly some that were the fault of poor coaching.

At the same time, I believe part of the reason our offense (and team) is struggling the way it is has to do with Manning's influence over the years. He's great, and we wouldn't have won all the games we did without him, but if you just give in to your best player every time (the way a lot of fans think we should), what happens when he's not around, or when he's not as good as he used to be? The team should reflect the leadership, and leadership has to be heavily influenced by the coaching and the management. The star player should reflect that leadership as well. And this season is a great example of why.

I totally agree with this post, it basically comes down to the FO not doing a good job of putting this team in the right position to win in the future.. I think come march we all are gonna have a pretty good idea of what the colts are gonna look like for now and in the future.

[Captain Americolt]

I totally agree with this post, it basically comes down to the FO not doing a good job of putting this team in the right position to win in the future.. I think come march we all are gonna have a pretty good idea of what the colts are gonna look like for now and in the future.

This upcoming draft is going to be very important.