Caldwell.....(Merge)

[MAC]

The use of the time outs in the last half of the Texans game was ridiculous! Give me a valid reason that he used them that way & I might excuse him. We should have had some left for the last drive. We won, but we should have had some insurance to help stop the clock besides the 2:00 warning!

What are you talking about? If they hadn't used the timeouts when they did there wouldn't have even BEEN a last minute drive. You use them on defense because the other team at that point is controlling the clock. They are less valuable on offense because you can hurry up, run out of bounds, or spike it. What he did was absolutely standard practice, and it was perfectly executed.

[Coltssouth]

Did you guys see the Bill Polian show last week? They had a bunch of kids come out and ask questions for Bill and Jim. It was a Christmas type of program and I really enjoyed it.

The first thing I noticed was that every child that asked anything Bill always responded with "that's a very good question". I appreciated that in him.

Anyway one of the boys asked Jim why he didn't try to encourage his players and motivate them more from the sidelines.

Basically his reply (because I didn't save the recorded copy so I'm trying to go by memory here) was that the players were highly motivated, strong individuals and they all wanted to win. That he didn't need him to encourage them, because it was what they all wanted the most.

Just throwing that out there. I don't know the answer, but I did enjoy the program.

[wordofmouth]

Ah, often actually. No more or less than any other coach. Those looking for more "fire" should realize that if your team won't perform without being yelled at or intimidated or encouraged as they are standing on the sidelines, then you already have a serious problem. The vast majority of the coaching is done out of our line of site.

I, like most people, am on the the "get rid of him" side, but MAC is exactly right. His sideline demeanor has nothing to do with it.

[Emme30]

What are you talking about? If they hadn't used the timeouts when they did there wouldn't have even BEEN a last minute drive. You use them on defense because the other team at that point is controlling the clock. They are less valuable on offense because you can hurry up, run out of bounds, or spike it. What he did was absolutely standard practice, and it was perfectly executed.

I've known many games when Dungy (or other coaches for that matter) have had time outs, or at least one, left over when we come back on the offensive drive. In case someone doesn't stop the clock by going out of bounds it's nice to have to stop the clock. I see you didn't address my question about when he called a time out during the Jets game. That one still has me scratching my head.

[FlemanX360]

The only reason he was even remotely good at coaching was all because of Peyton. Without Jim's scapegoat, he's just some guy wearing a headset.

[Warhorse]

I've thought about it a lot and honestly, what legitimate reasoning do we have to say that he should be fired? Because he's 2-13? Yeah, but without Peyton Manning. Look at the talent on this team. It really isn't that good. Our secondary is terrible. Gary Brackett has been out all year. We're still small on the D-line. Our defense is only decent when we have the lead, which we haven't had that a lot this year. And the offense revolves completely around Peyton Manning. I'm not sure what people expected out of the offense this year, but I expected exactly what we've seen. There are a lot of holes on this team that Peyton covered and without him they've been exposed.

Why isn't Polian's name being brought up? He should get just as much blame. He has drafted horribly the last 7-8 years. We haven't had a good first round pick since Dallas Clark. And aside from Angerer, who is our last good 2nd round pick?? Anyone remember? It was Bob Sanders in 04. For a team that builds through the draft, they sure have done a terrible job at it. And it has clearly put us in a hole. Nothing but aging talent on this team.

We can sit here and speculate that Caldwell doesn't know what he's doing based on how he looks on the sidelines, how he answers every question post game with cliche responses, etc. but at the end of the day what do we have to go off of? I don't know how anyone can blame him for the SB loss. He's not the one that threw a pick 6. I will concede that Caldwell's timeout last year was a terrible one, but you know what.. every coach has their moments. All I know is that I've yet to hear anyone talk bad about Caldwell except fans. Everyone on the 'inside' that talks about him praises him and says how good of a coach he is. Steve Mariucci on Thursday night said he's a great coach and shouldn't be fired. Bethea said the same thing. Clearly our players like him and play hard for him.

You know. it's funny that no one talks about the losses on our D-line. We were poised to really stop the run, and our beef is not playing. Just think what this team would look like had we had Dano's ability from week one with a stout D line. I would not be surprised that we had 6 - 7 wins right now. Then his job is not questioned because.....Dallas not playing the same, Bullit gone, Brackett gone, Drake Nevis gone, Blair White gone, Ben Ijalana gone, Eric Foster gone......

He's a coach, not a magician. That would be a tough list without PM added to it.

[MAC]

I've known many games when Dungy (or other coaches for that matter) have had time outs, or at least one, left over when we come back on the offensive drive. In case someone doesn't stop the clock by going out of bounds it's nice to have to stop the clock. I see you didn't address my question about when he called a time out during the Jets game. That one still has me scratching my head.

You have time outs left over if the game happens to flow that way. Caldwell didn't waste any time outs, he used them to his advantage. A "better" coach wouldn't have called less timeouts, at that point you are desperate to stop the other team, and the TOs are a weapon at your disposal. The key thing is that the Colts stopped the Texans again - something that the defense wouldn't have been able to do in many games this season. One first down and the game is over.

I'm not saying that I agree with everything that he does. I thought that the Jets timeout was a mistake also, but it wasn't the defining moment of the game. The Colts had all the momentum, then they allowed a kickoff return to almost midfield. At that point I was assuming that the odds were against the Colts baring some brilliant defensive play. Instead they gave up 20 yards in two plays then a short running play. It felt like they were reeling, and the game was already lost. I assumed that the Colts called the time out to rest and reset the defense, because not much good was going on. The Jets still had a timeout in hand. Would it have made much difference if the Jets had called the timeout instead, because the "game winning" pass was down the sideline, and would have stopped the clock anyway. We only know that it was a mistake because afterwards Ryan said that they were preparing to settle for a long field goal, but why should Caldwell assume that? The Jets had first and 10 at the Colts 34 with the clock stopped at 36 seconds. Who runs two yards up the middle and then settles for a long field goal at that point? If it was sub-par time-management by Caldwell, it was even worse time management by Ryan - whom I would be willing to bet everyone on this thread would hold up as an example of a much better coach than Caldwell.

If you saw the "Football Life" episode about Bellichick, you might have come away realizing just how utterly ridiculous his infamous "go for it on fourth down" call against the Colts was. As a Colts fan I had taken it as a compliment (Peyton is so good he didn't want to give him the ball back), but watching the show I realized just how stupid a decision it was. FAR worse than any game decision Caldwell has ever made. Everyone makes mistakes, Belichick just has a lot of currency saved up.

I will say that in general Caldwell is a bit too conservative in his game management for my taste, but I felt exactly the same way about Dungy. It's a philosophy, not a sign of incompetence.

I'd also like a better explanation for some of the player personnel decisions, but I tend to assume that they have far better insight into the rosters capabilities than I do.

[MAC]

His responsibility is to oversee and evaluate talent.....such as the back-up QB. By far the most egregious error made this season was the lack of foresight and sloppy handling of Manning's replacement. It's been shown quite inarguably tht a decent back-up QB is all this team needed to win. There was a bevy of available QB talent yet we went with a retired old man and then .....the Painter project.....that was bizarre. This is Caldwell's folly.

Caldwell may be a fine assistant coach but there has been much evidence that perhaps the NFL HC position isn't his thing.

You are forgetting that Painter was arguable more impressive in his first 3 (and a 1/4) starts than Orlovsky was in his. He was an instant improvement over Collins, and it felt like the offense played well enough to win. The problem was that the defense fell apart each second half. Things devolved in the NO game, and you could make the argument that they shouldn't have stuck with him through four more games. Maybe two or three, but that's a close call and hardly the defining point of the season.

I think that the bigger issue is oline injuries, and the fact that the defense is playing better with the new DC. When Painter was playing well he had essentially the same line that Orlovsky is now playing well with. When he was playing badly he did not. I think that the Colts have wanted to commit to the run for some time now (they brought in a full back in training camp after-all) but it just didn't work, plus they were falling behind and having to pass to catch up. Curtis Painter, a bunch of UFAs and 3rd and long are not a good combination. Orlovsky certainly keeps his head better - even if he isn't as talented a passer.

In other words, there is every reason to believe that Painter could have won these games too. He came extremely close to 2-3 last minutes wins himself.

[Nadine]

the players were highly motivated, strong individuals and they all wanted to win. That he didn't need him to encourage them, because it was what they all wanted the most.

Pretty much how i feel about that particular issue. although I enjoyed seeing Peyton fall to his knees last week......emotion on the sideline doesn't concern me

[LUVTHESHOE]

I have heard it said that there are alot of people( and not just on the forum)who belive that Jim Caldwell would not be a HC canidate for any other job. With that being said why keep him. If you have something that nobody else wants, why is it worth having. It is apparent that I am not a Caldwell fan, but I do watch a ton of football and listen to a ton of talk radio, (national not local) and JC does just not seem to get to much respect or credit for the job he has done. So what is the delima. They say value is determined by the desire and JC seems to have little value.

[Case]

Good point. He would not be a HC on any team in the nfl I bet.

[theblueplague]

We are keeping him because he's Polian's puppet. Seriously.

[FireJimCaldwell]

Another team wouldn't dare be that foolish. We could have hired pretty much any man that has been an NFL coach over the past 5 years and they would have won with Manning. Caldwell isn't a difference maker, and it would be nice to get a difference maker as a head coach.

[HungarianColtsFan]

This Caldwell question is a mistery for me. Even Hungarian journalist dealing with American football said, that Caldwell isn't enough for a Colts caliber team, and after 0-13 (in USA) it become a trend to roast Colts and/or Caldwell. I'm not a Caldwell fan neither but wouldn't say he is bad, he hasn't experience in head coaching an NFL team, so he couldn't manage absence of Manning. We need an experienced HC who has a concept, how to improve this team.

Perhaps if he'd been already fired earlier this season his value wouldn't be so down. Practically he needs to reboot his career, if he'll be fired. I wouldn't exclude he will be HC in NFL again after a few years, but there is a chance for him disappearing in the sink.

[21isSuperman]

I think the management would know the answer best. Caldwell was a candidate for the Cowboys coaching job when they hired Wade (though some claim that to be because of the Rooney Rule). The management can best make the call.

As for keeping someone that no one else wanted, I disagree. No one wanted Adam Vinatieri, Kurt Warner, Jeff Saturday, etc. but they still turned out to be very good players. You have to see what kind of player/coach will work with the kind of team you want to run.

[LUVTHESHOE]

I think the management would know the answer best. Caldwell was a candidate for the Cowboys coaching job when they hired Wade (though some claim that to be because of the Rooney Rule). The management can best make the call.

As for keeping someone that no one else wanted, I disagree. No one wanted Adam Vinatieri, Kurt Warner, Jeff Saturday, etc. but they still turned out to be very good players. You have to see what kind of player/coach will work with the kind of team you want to run.

True, but a coach with a career combined college and pro record sub 40% and fading won't work long anywhere.

[Smonroe]

I have heard it said that there are alot of people( and not just on the forum)who belive that Jim Caldwell would not be a HC canidate for any other job. With that being said why keep him. If you have something that nobody else wants, why is it worth having. It is apparent that I am not a Caldwell fan, but I do watch a ton of football and listen to a ton of talk radio, (national not local) and JC does just not seem to get to much respect or credit for the job he has done. So what is the delima. They say value is determined by the desire and JC seems to have little value.

To be fair, you could make that same argument for at least 50% of first time HC's. I agree with you though, he probably wouldn't get another HC job if we let him go.

[UltimaterializerX]

Caldwell should have been fired after the 2010 season. If you call a timeout in the playoffs to help the OTHER team stop the clock on a game-winning drive, then you lack football IQ.

[LUVTHESHOE]

Caldwell should have been fired after the 2010 season. If you call a timeout in the playoffs to help the OTHER team stop the clock on a game-winning drive, then you lack football IQ.

When you are 26-63 in the ACC, you have no football I.Q.,but must have a friend that does.

[AlanNC]

When you are 26-63 in the ACC, you have no football I.Q.,but must have a friend that does.

I would be the last to defend Caldwell but winning at Wake Forest in football is not easy. That said he still cant coach. He better be gone after Sunday.

[deedub75]

Lets tell the truth

16-3, 10-7, 3-13

a total of 29-23...

If this was in reverse then I would agree that Caldwell has a grasp of things and is a competent coach. Unfortunately, he has done like Gruden and taken Dungy's team to the Super Bowl and then drove the team into the ground.

[No 1 Manning Fan]

Pretty much how i feel about that particular issue. although I enjoyed seeing Peyton fall to his knees last week......emotion on the sideline doesn't concern me

I think it is a highly personal preference. I like a coach who fights for his players by arguing with the refs when it is a bad call. I like a coach who doesn't mind chewing out a player who completely blows a play, or benching a player who obviously has lost focus and is hurting the team. I'm not saying this is the only way, just my preference. Certainly, great coached can come in all forms. Look at Mike Krzyzewski and Bobby Knight. They are two totally different coaches and have distinct motivational styles, but both get results. I just think Bobby Knight would fire me up more if I were a player.

[Hal]

Chill out everyone. Original Poster is clearly a TROLLLLLLLLLOLOLOLOLOLOL

[Andy]

I haven't posted here yet, but let me remind everyone that Jim Caldwell lost 13 straight games and has only won 2 games. Is that acceptable? No. He needs to go, and this team needs a facelift and that starts with a new head coach.

[Tsarquise]

I haven't posted here yet, but let me remind everyone that Jim Caldwell lost 13 straight games and has only won 2 games. Is that acceptable? No. He needs to go, and this team needs a facelift and that starts with a new head coach.

He also WON 14 straight games too...

[GoColts8818]

we beat a texan team BARELY, without their best defensive player and their starting qb and wr. mostly because of stupid penalties.

In fairness it's not like the Colts weren't playing without a major handicap too...

[Andy]

He also WON 14 straight games too...

Yeah that's not because of him. The one year he had to prove himself, to prove to people that he can do it without PM; he >>>s up and going forward that's not a coach that a team wants. If he can't do it with PM, how will he do after PM retires. He's a terrible coach who needs to go and fast. Even with PM last year, he failed to make any big changes until Coyer begged him to make the defense easier in Week 15. Our head coach is an dipstick.

[Betty27_1]

I still don't have a high opinion of Caldwell as a coach. But as far as the Colts beating a team with a 3rd string QB? The Colts themselves were playing with a 3rd string QB who had only just won his first NFL game as a starter the previous game. It's not like the Texans were playing with a 3rd string QB against a Colts team with Peyton Manning. Just because the Texans had injuries doesn't mean their entire team was suffering. Yeah, Andre Johnson was out, but who did they have on the field? Arian Foster. He more than makes up for that.

I agree, a team with the Texans' record should of been able to beat a 1-13 Colts team with a 3rd string QB.

[GoColts8818]

Yeah that's not because of him. The one year he had to prove himself, to prove to people that he can do it without PM; he >>>s up and going forward that's not a coach that a team wants. If he can't do it with PM, how will he do after PM retires. He's a terrible coach who needs to go and fast. Even with PM last year, he failed to make any big changes until Coyer begged him to make the defense easier in Week 15. Our head coach is an dipstick.

I am not buying the he had nothing to do with it line that anti-Caldwell people like to throw out there. There is such a double standard with him it's not even funny. When they win he had nothing to do with it and when they lose it's all his fault no matter what was going on in in either case.

Also I am not sure many coaches in the NFL could have won games this year with a team that is built around Peyton Manning that lost him at the last second and then turned to Curtis Painter to bail them out. Some of that goes on the dramatic drop off in talent at the QB spot and that has nothing to do with who the head coach it.

Coyer was fired well before week 15 so while Murphy might have changed the defense Coyer was long gone by that point.

Again if people want to rip Caldwell there is plunty of stuff to rip him for and after at best a 3-13 season it's hard to say he shouldn't be ripped, his lack of adjustments, his funky time managment, or not going to Orlovsky sooner all that stuff is fair game but just keep it fair. Blaming him for Peyton Manning being hurt and being stuck with Curtis Painter isn't fair or just brushing off every win he's had in his career as he had nothing to do with them but yet every loss he had in his career is his fault is also unfair. Honeslty looking at your post you'd think anyone should just be able to come in and replace Peyton Manning and there should be no problem. It's not that simple, if it was do you think we would have given Peyton Manning a huge contract or wouldn't we have just replaced him with someone cheaper and balanced out the rest of the team?

[Andy]

I am not buying the he had nothing to do with it line that anti-Caldwell people like to throw out there. There is such a double standard with him it's not even funny. When they win he had nothing to do with it and when they lose it's all his fault no matter what was going on in in either case.

Also I am not sure many coaches in the NFL could have won games this year with a team that is built around Peyton Manning that lost him at the last second and then turned to Curtis Painter to bail them out. Some of that goes on the dramatic drop off in talent at the QB spot and that has nothing to do with who the head coach it.

Coyer was fired well before week 15 so while Murphy might have changed the defense Coyer was long gone by that point.

Again if people want to rip Caldwell there is plunty of stuff to rip him for and after at best a 3-13 season it's hard to say he shouldn't be ripped, his lack of adjustments, his funky time managment, all that stuff is fair game but just keep it fair. Blaming him for Peyton Manning being hurt and being stuck with Curtis Painter isn't fair or just brushing off every win he's had in his career as he had nothing to do with them but yet every loss he had in his career is his fault is also unfair. Honeslty looking at your post you'd think anyone should just be able to come in and replace Peyton Manning and there should be no problem. It's not that simple, if it was do you think we would have given Peyton Manning a huge contract or wouldn't we have just replaced him with someone cheaper and balanced out the rest of the team?

The 2009 team was set up by Tony Dungy. Dungy spent years setting that team up for the years after his retirement. Jim Caldwell took over Tony Dungy's team and didn't change a thing. He just happened to have a phenomenal year from Peyton Manning that season, so that's why they went far. Jim Caldwell didn't bring anything special to the table. His history is bad (look at his Wake Forest record), and he made no impact as an assistant. Tom Moore was the offense coordinator and Clyde helped out. Tom Moore set up that offense.

Everything was in place for Caldwell. If we had a quality coach like a Jeff Fisher like coach, for example, taking over in 2009, he would have done more for this team as people like him bring more to the table than Caldwell.

Larry Coyer was useless. They brought in a guy who had a very different defense in Denver, and they expected him to use the Colts' defense and make it work. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Larry Coyer's dismal presence was due to the FO not giving him the freedom to the what he wants. They contained him. Mike Murphy knows this defense, and has been here for a long time. He's seen what works and doesn't. I only realize this now, but he seemed like the best candidate all along.

If Caldwell wants to be considered a good coach, he's gonna have to win games without his star player. He can't be beating teams who's missing half their roster and playing a 3rd stringer. That's not going to get you anywhere. Every loss isn't his fault, but he is the scapegoat unfortunately. Too bad this guy has no fight in him and can't seem to turn things around. Coaches who realize their on the hot seat try their hardest to try to get off it. He hasn't done anything big that has helped the team. He's not a head coach. He wasn't ready to lead a team, this guy didn't even call the plays when Dungy was the head coach. Plus, he didn't know defense that well and he didn't have a very good D-coordinator that could help him out.

What scares me the most is that this guy is going to be coaching this team in the future. I think he stays. I hope he goes though. How is this guy suppose to change this team after PM's gone. With a healthy PM, he had a tough time making the playoffs. He's gonna have to do drastic changes to this team because going forward, this team can't stay so darn revolved around one freagin player. He needs to start changing things up. This tickes me off the most... I just don't see him doing that. The Polians may give him the liberty of changing a couple of things up, but he won't. This league is evolving every day at every practice, and from what I've seen in the last 5 years from the Colts has not shown me that we're changing much. We still use the same defensive scheme most of the time. We're so pass-heavy, even with Dan Orlovsky as our quarterback, and his play-calling is boring and terrible. It's not unpredictable, which is something great head coaches said that they do (I'll try to find which coach said that, but I think Bill Walsh, Sean Payton and Mike Smith said that). I don't think he was ever ready for this job, and his enthusiasm and personality shows me that he doesn't want to change. He's too scared to change, as if he does a couple of things wrong, he'll get fired, just like Larry Coyer. Larry wanted to blitz, the Polians said no, he did it and BAM! he's gone. Jim Caldwell is too scared to change, and how can the Colts move forward if their coach is too afraid to change?

[HungarianColtsFan]

Old thread in new groom.

These 2 wins were vital for the team and the fans, and I'm very happy with them, but they didn't change the picture much. Just a few thoughts:

JC (Jim Caldwell) is 29-23 with Colts: Fact, but the team is going downward. I've always kept saying the SB in his first year was to early for JC. A coach could learn more from 1 loss, than 10 wins. He got pretty much lessons this year...

Manning is out for this season, and the team is built around him: I think this is a cheap excuse, Bill Bilichek could manage absence of T. Brady (an I don't think Pats is built less around Brady than Colts around Manning). A talented (or experienced) HC could have done the same, at least the season wouldn't look like so terrible.

And don't forget: not only a lot fans would like to see Caldwell being fired, but also sports media and experts are crediting Caldwell's job with low grade. Other teams were changing during mid-season, so FO and Mr. Irsay is really patient and giving trust him so far, so Caldwell has (had) a chance to prove himself in this season, but necessary measures (hiring new DC, switching to Orlovsky) were taken a little too late IMO.

De decision about Caldwell's job will be made by Mr. Irsay and Mr. Pollian, but I am sure there will be a lot of talk here about "rip or keep" him as long as he is at Colts.

[braveheartcolt]

The 2009 team was set up by Tony Dungy. Dungy spent years setting that team up for the years after his retirement. Jim Caldwell took over Tony Dungy's team and didn't change a thing. He just happened to have a phenomenal year from Peyton Manning that season, so that's why they went far. Jim Caldwell didn't bring anything special to the table. His history is bad (look at his Wake Forest record), and he made no impact as an assistant. Tom Moore was the offense coordinator and Clyde helped out. Tom Moore set up that offense.

Everything was in place for Caldwell. If we had a quality coach like a Jeff Fisher like coach, for example, taking over in 2009, he would have done more for this team as people like him bring more to the table than Caldwell.

Larry Coyer was useless. They brought in a guy who had a very different defense in Denver, and they expected him to use the Colts' defense and make it work. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Larry Coyer's dismal presence was due to the FO not giving him the freedom to the what he wants. They contained him. Mike Murphy knows this defense, and has been here for a long time. He's seen what works and doesn't. I only realize this now, but he seemed like the best candidate all along.

If Caldwell wants to be considered a good coach, he's gonna have to win games without his star player. He can't be beating teams who's missing half their roster and playing a 3rd stringer. That's not going to get you anywhere. Every loss isn't his fault, but he is the scapegoat unfortunately. Too bad this guy has no fight in him and can't seem to turn things around. Coaches who realize their on the hot seat try their hardest to try to get off it. He hasn't done anything big that has helped the team. He's not a head coach. He wasn't ready to lead a team, this guy didn't even call the plays when Dungy was the head coach. Plus, he didn't know defense that well and he didn't have a very good D-coordinator that could help him out.

What scares me the most is that this guy is going to be coaching this team in the future. I think he stays. I hope he goes though. How is this guy suppose to change this team after PM's gone. With a healthy PM, he had a tough time making the playoffs. He's gonna have to do drastic changes to this team because going forward, this team can't stay so darn revolved around one freagin player. He needs to start changing things up. This tickes me off the most... I just don't see him doing that. The Polians may give him the liberty of changing a couple of things up, but he won't. This league is evolving every day at every practice, and from what I've seen in the last 5 years from the Colts has not shown me that we're changing much. We still use the same defensive scheme most of the time. We're so pass-heavy, even with Dan Orlovsky as our quarterback, and his play-calling is boring and terrible. It's not unpredictable, which is something great head coaches said that they do (I'll try to find which coach said that, but I think Bill Walsh, Sean Payton and Mike Smith said that). I don't think he was ever ready for this job, and his enthusiasm and personality shows me that he doesn't want to change. He's too scared to change, as if he does a couple of things wrong, he'll get fired, just like Larry Coyer. Larry wanted to blitz, the Polians said no, he did it and BAM! he's gone. Jim Caldwell is too scared to change, and how can the Colts move forward if their coach is too afraid to change?

Not a Caldwell fan then Andy?

[HungarianColtsFan]

The 2009 team was set up by Tony Dungy. Dungy spent years setting that team up for the years after his retirement. Jim Caldwell took over Tony Dungy's team and didn't change a thing. He just happened to have a phenomenal year from Peyton Manning that season, so that's why they went far. Jim Caldwell didn't bring anything special to the table. His history is bad (look at his Wake Forest record), and he made no impact as an assistant. Tom Moore was the offense coordinator and Clyde helped out. Tom Moore set up that offense. Everything was in place for Caldwell. If we had a quality coach like a Jeff Fisher like coach, for example, taking over in 2009, he would have done more for this team as people like him bring more to the table than Caldwell. Larry Coyer was useless. They brought in a guy who had a very different defense in Denver, and they expected him to use the Colts' defense and make it work. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Larry Coyer's dismal presence was due to the FO not giving him the freedom to the what he wants. They contained him. Mike Murphy knows this defense, and has been here for a long time. He's seen what works and doesn't. I only realize this now, but he seemed like the best candidate all along. If Caldwell wants to be considered a good coach, he's gonna have to win games without his star player. He can't be beating teams who's missing half their roster and playing a 3rd stringer. That's not going to get you anywhere. Every loss isn't his fault, but he is the scapegoat unfortunately. Too bad this guy has no fight in him and can't seem to turn things around. Coaches who realize their on the hot seat try their hardest to try to get off it. He hasn't done anything big that has helped the team. He's not a head coach. He wasn't ready to lead a team, this guy didn't even call the plays when Dungy was the head coach. Plus, he didn't know defense that well and he didn't have a very good D-coordinator that could help him out. What scares me the most is that this guy is going to be coaching this team in the future. I think he stays. I hope he goes though. How is this guy suppose to change this team after PM's gone. With a healthy PM, he had a tough time making the playoffs. He's gonna have to do drastic changes to this team because going forward, this team can't stay so darn revolved around one freagin player. He needs to start changing things up. This tickes me off the most... I just don't see him doing that. The Polians may give him the liberty of changing a couple of things up, but he won't. This league is evolving every day at every practice, and from what I've seen in the last 5 years from the Colts has not shown me that we're changing much. We still use the same defensive scheme most of the time. We're so pass-heavy, even with Dan Orlovsky as our quarterback, and his play-calling is boring and terrible. It's not unpredictable, which is something great head coaches said that they do (I'll try to find which coach said that, but I think Bill Walsh, Sean Payton and Mike Smith said that). I don't think he was ever ready for this job, and his enthusiasm and personality shows me that he doesn't want to change. He's too scared to change, as if he does a couple of things wrong, he'll get fired, just like Larry Coyer. Larry wanted to blitz, the Polians said no, he did it and BAM! he's gone. Jim Caldwell is too scared to change, and how can the Colts move forward if their coach is too afraid to change?

I must agree with You. I think this is the post gathers points most objectively in this thread. Thank You for that!

Edited December 28, 2011 by HungarianColtsFan

[SilentHill]

He also WON 14 straight games too...

He did that? News to me. I coulda swore that they were just riding the good vibes from Dungy from the season before. He also made a lot of bad calls as a HC that season. That team carried itself to the superbowl. Caldwell was just along for the ride.

[SilentHill]

I am not buying the he had nothing to do with it line that anti-Caldwell people like to throw out there. There is such a double standard with him it's not even funny. When they win he had nothing to do with it and when they lose it's all his fault no matter what was going on in in either case.

Also I am not sure many coaches in the NFL could have won games this year with a team that is built around Peyton Manning that lost him at the last second and then turned to Curtis Painter to bail them out. Some of that goes on the dramatic drop off in talent at the QB spot and that has nothing to do with who the head coach it.

Coyer was fired well before week 15 so while Murphy might have changed the defense Coyer was long gone by that point.

Again if people want to rip Caldwell there is plunty of stuff to rip him for and after at best a 3-13 season it's hard to say he shouldn't be ripped, his lack of adjustments, his funky time managment, or not going to Orlovsky sooner all that stuff is fair game but just keep it fair. Blaming him for Peyton Manning being hurt and being stuck with Curtis Painter isn't fair or just brushing off every win he's had in his career as he had nothing to do with them but yet every loss he had in his career is his fault is also unfair. Honeslty looking at your post you'd think anyone should just be able to come in and replace Peyton Manning and there should be no problem. It's not that simple, if it was do you think we would have given Peyton Manning a huge contract or wouldn't we have just replaced him with someone cheaper and balanced out the rest of the team?

He had nothing to do with the wins, it's clear as day, If he can't motivate this team now then what makes you think he motivated them to a SB that year? Or are you just chalking this up to coincidence?

As for Painter... Caldwell is a former QB COACH! HELLO! That in itself speaks VOLUMES that he decided to go with Painter at the beginning of the season. I mean cmon man. How can you defend a guy that is flawed in every aspect of his job. He has NEVER had a winning record as a HC in college. What makes you think he can perform at this level? How can you say it wasn't Manning? Do you see where we are this year?

[LUVTHESHOE]

I, like most people, am on the the "get rid of him" side, but MAC is exactly right. His sideline demeanor has nothing to do with it.

I agree, he could barely handle the Cadillac he INHERITED, now it is a Pinto and there is no way I want him as its chief mechanic. And that is not due to demeanor, it is due to not knowing what nut and bolt goes where.

[Andy]

Not a Caldwell fan then Andy?

No. I don't think going forward, he can take us far in the playoffs.

[jskinnz]

He had nothing to do with the wins, it's clear as day, If he can't motivate this team now then what makes you think he motivated them to a SB that year? Or are you just chalking this up to coincidence?

What a load of nonsense.

1) Saying he had nothing to do with the wins is beyond mind-numbing

2) Saying the Colts are not a motivated team is also ridiculous. I would suggest that the one thing that Caldwell has going for him is that his teams play hard for him, save the Saints game. They always have and particularly so in this God-awful year. You can argue about his game management and preparation but anything about the team'smotivation is uninformed.

[SilentHill]

What a load of nonsense.

1) Saying he had nothing to do with the wins is beyond mind-numbing

2) Saying the Colts are not a motivated team is also ridiculous. I would suggest that the one thing that Caldwell has going for him is that his teams play hard for him, save the Saints game. They always have and particularly so in this God-awful year. You can argue about his game management and preparation but anything about the team'smotivation is uninformed.

Were we watching the same team this season? They gave up around week 3, it was visable. They only now started to pick it up. Probably because their real leader Manning has been coaching them from the sidelines.

[jskinnz]

Were we watching the same team this season? They gave up around week 3, it was visable. They only now started to pick it up. Probably because their real leader Manning has been coaching them from the sidelines.

I am sure we were watching the same team. Probably the difference of opinion lies with the fact that I know what I am looking at.

Go through the schedule and honestly tell me where they have quit, aside from the Saints game.

And you compounded your nonsense with your comment on Manning.