UPDATE: Pep Hamilton is fired

[lennymoore24]

I think after the bye week, the offense will perform much better.  That will have a rippled effect on the whole team, as the defense can hold its down.  Now I think the Colts can surprise.  The talent is there.   A few things to remember.  The Colts have sucked and held their own with two undefeated teams.  Secondly, Chud got a solid season out of Trent Richardson, which is a minor miracle.  So I expect a huge improvement.  My hope has been restored for this season.

[Johnny colt]

After time to think about this move, I have mixed feelings about this. How much of Pep do you blame for the Colts offense? Just weak personnel and a poor performance by our QB. 

 

Still, excited for the promotion of Chudzinski. He was my pick for interim head coach when/if Pagano is fired. 

 

Also like to mention how Pagano made this move to save his butt for at least until the end of the season. 

Finally,someone who didnt overreact like a 5th grade girl that gets to have her friend stay the night.Every word of your post was perfect..Pep had to go but we have not won the big game yet.Chud might come in and simply involve the TE's more and that 1 totally simplistic move will have him looking like a genius.But I dont think Pep had much to do with our catchers not getting open or Luck throwing inaccurate passes.I wouldnt mind seeing Pags gone but if this move works Pags could be safe.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Great move, but also very interesting concerning the balance for power between Iray, Grigson and Pagano.

 

I don't believe in the "Pagano fired Pep to safe his own butt" for a second. Pagano isn't the type of man that lets others pay for his own faults to the extent that he fires someone without due diligence.

 

I think Irsay and Pagano had simply lost confidence in Pep and saw - correctly - that a substantial change was needed to get Luck back on track. And the whole Offensive of course.

 

We don't know what Grigson's take was on firing Pep, but if Pagano tells Irsay that he has lost confidence in Pep and wants Chud in as OC, and Irsay trust that evaluation over whatever Grigson had to say, the balance of power might have changed - or is at least different to what we thought.

 

I'm not so sure that Pagano is the next man out. If this works out with Chud as OC, Pagano might stay as HC, and then it will be Grigson that has to accept a loss of power or find a new job.

[WoolMagnet]

They don't need a new system. They just need someone competent to call plays and make adjustments. NFL is all about timing and rythm.

Someone who understands situational football, opponent strengths, weaknesses, traits, trends, and percentages.

Its not as difficult as it sounds.

[WoolMagnet]

I gotta hand it to Irsay. I think he didn't react too quickly and if I remove emotion, this seems the right move.

We need a change on offense, a drastic one. Chud has been here, knows the guys, and has experience. The decision targets our problem area, but doesn't disrupt that much, and doesn't throw away the season.

Also sets the tone to everyone to do their jobs and might infuse excitement and new life on that side of the ball which is sorely needed.

I'm a lil bummed for pep. He seems like a professional and nice guy but it isn't workng.

Smart move Mr Irsay, you may have saved the season.

I'm still hoping.

[colts8718]

Greg Doyel gets it right on Grigson in the Indy Star only wish Irsay would get rid of Grigson. This guy is ruining this franchise I don't understand what Irsay see;s in him its so obvious he has no clue

[Shane Bond]

Scapegoat

[Shane Bond]

Greg Doyel gets it right on Grigson in the Indy Star only wish Irsay would get rid of Grigson. This guy is ruining this franchise I don't understand what Irsay see;s in him its so obvious he has no clue

May be he is the secret child

[Dustin]

Scapegoat

That implies he did nothing wrong.

[Shane Bond]

That implies he did nothing wrong.

It also implies, there are others who did worse than him.

[Dustin]

It also implies, there are others who did worse than him.

Like who?

[Shane Bond]

Like who?

Grigson

[Dustin]

Grigson

Well, I agree on that, but it's not really scapegoating when you have an offense that's pretty talented, but just performing bad. Grigson did his part on the offensive side of the ball, Pep just couldn't get the most out of it.

[Shane Bond]

Well, I agree on that, but it's not really scapegoating when you have an offense that's pretty talented, but just performing bad. Grigson did his part on the offensive side of the ball, Pep just couldn't get the most out of it.

I didn't say Pep was awesome but Grigson should have been fired first.

[FicmanS]

I have thought for a long time Pep was in over his head, Luck's play covered that up pretty well.  I wish Pep the best, but he had to go.  He never displayed the ability to make changes in play calling enough to help this team when they struggled.  I am excited to see how this team responds, I believe this will make a significant difference for us, now Let's HUNT

[Cynjin]

That is surprising.

Majority of tweeters (in the article) say this is just a move for Pagano to save his seat, and that it will not actually help our offense. Pep is just a scapegoat, yada yada yada. Deion Sanders chimed in calling the firing "unbelievable" and said Pep will be a HC in the NFL.

More negative reactions than I was expecting.

I understand why there is some negative reaction, but to have looked at this dysfunctional offense and then be surprised that the guy in charge of it is fired, that makes no sense. As far as Sanders, I just consider the source.

[coltsfeva]

I was at the game Monday and saw what I thought was one of the most exciting games in a long time. So many plays were "do or die" and I thought the Colts played tough. So many self-inflicted wounds. 

Hate to say it, but Andrew should take some heat on this one. The O-line was protecting him against a very good team. Was it Pep's fault Andrew was taking shots down the field when he had guys underneath open? Can Chudunski get him to change? Sure hope so, cause I think the rest of the team is good enough to get this thing back on track, especially in our division.

[Dustin]

I didn't say Pep was awesome but Grigson should have been fired first.

Unlike Pep, there's no advantage to Grigson being fired mid-season, and I say that as someone who's wanted Grigson gone for 2 1/2 years.

[Shane Bond]

Unlike Pep, there's no advantage to Grigson being fired mid-season, and I say that as someone who's wanted Grigson gone for 2 1/2 years.

Whats the advantage having him with negative vibe and energy ruining the remaining season?

[JColts72]

Even Dungy is complaining about the firing, but who cares. Going forward, if Luck continues to regress, then we can say it's him and not the system with Chad as OC.

[JColts72]

That is surprising.

Majority of tweeters (in the article) say this is just a move for Pagano to save his seat, and that it will not actually help our offense. Pep is just a scapegoat, yada yada yada. Deion Sanders chimed in calling the firing "unbelievable" and said Pep will be a HC in the NFL.

More negative reactions than I was expecting.

Deion is a punk and overrated HOF. He never missed a tackle he did not like. Him and Skip are is so anti-Colt and Luck  to begin with. I wonder of all of the negative reaction about Pep would be the same if it was Chud who was the OC for years, and he was fired.

[Restored]

I was at the game Monday and saw what I thought was one of the most exciting games in a long time. So many plays were "do or die" and I thought the Colts played tough. So many self-inflicted wounds. 

Hate to say it, but Andrew should take some heat on this one. The O-line was protecting him against a very good team. Was it Pep's fault Andrew was taking shots down the field when he had guys underneath open? Can Chudunski get him to change? Sure hope so, cause I think the rest of the team is good enough to get this thing back on track, especially in our division.

 

I think that's part of the reason why Pep was also fired. It wasn't so much the playcalling but rather his inability to get Luck out of the funk he was in.

[mvbighead]

Greg Doyel gets it right on Grigson in the Indy Star only wish Irsay would get rid of Grigson. This guy is ruining this franchise I don't understand what Irsay see;s in him its so obvious he has no clue

 

This, to me, is only true if Grigson was dictating coaching staff and personnel to Pagano.

 

At this point, if any of that was true, it could seem like Irsay is, in a sense, giving Pagano the keys on the coaching side and stripping them from Grigson.  If it plays out, we could retain both through additional seasons.  If not, it would seem a front office refresh is in store.

 

When I look at what Grigson has done, you have to give him credit for his personnel:

 

1. Luck was of course a gimme, though the talking heads were clamoring for RG-ME and he stuck with Luck
2. Vontae Davis
3. TY Hilton
4. Donte Moncrief
5. Fleener
6. Allen
7. Mewhort
8. D Jackson
9. Freeman
10. Langford
11. Parry
12. Anderson
13. Mathis (he could have let him walk... he didn't)
14. Wayne (he brought him back, possibly at Pagano's insistence)
15. Gore

 

Sure, he has had some misses, but he is a guy throwing darts at the board with guys that have solid talent levels.  Some don't pan out for the long haul (Cherilus/Landry).  Some are not as good as we would like (Toler).  But by and large he has brought in talent and not really cap struck this team to the point we can't try new talent.

 

If you take away any influence he has on the coaching and starters and such (if any of that is true), and leave that aspect to the coaches, he could be a good asset for years to come.  But if he is truly trying to retain power of all aspects, and continues to try to dictate that in the future, he needs to go.  The only time a GM should have full control over the coaching aspects is when he is the head coach himself, ala Bill Bellicheck.  Right now, noone we have is in that caliber, so Pagano's job should be reasonably safe if any of that was true.  Our offense is a shell of what it used to be, but our defense, which is Pagano's background, is middle tier if it wasn't for all those turnovers, and we'd be in good shape to be above middle tier if our offense was worth speaking of.

[UKColt13]

Good move.

 

Sad to see anyone get fired though.

[bcnelson]

Even Dungy is complaining about the firing, but who cares. Going forward, if Luck continues to regress, then we can say it's him and not the system with Chad as OC.

 

Correct. When you are troubleshooting a problem, any problem, you remove a single piece and look at the results. If things don't get better, then you replace a different piece. If things do get better, you stop replacing pieces.

 

In this situation, this move by Irsay is ideal. You take out the least disruptive and least expensive piece in the system. This piece is the controller for the faults we've seen in the system. Offense is broken? Remove whatever was controlling the offense. If, however, you still have the same faults, then you remove whatever was controlling the controller -- that is, you test the system for the rest of the season and remove the head coach and replace with a new head coach.

 

Then, if they problem persists, you replace the master controller. You get a new GM after next year if all these intermediate fixes don't cure the root problem. The contracts are expiring for HC and GM - you don't even have to make decisions, you just don't renew contracts. Simple fix.

 

But if firing Pep does solve the problem, then you keep your HC and your GM. It means not upsetting and rebuilding the entire system again (new HC and GM would require re-tooling - and that has a huge cost if you consider the perishable years of Andrew Luck).

[NagelHausForge]

Pep seemed like such a great guy. I wish we could've quietly demoted him. I don't ever want to hear Pagano talk of family again.

 

This probably wasn't Pagano's decision... this was most likely Irsay putting his foot down on Grigson.

 

As someone posted earlier, maybe Stephen Holder, this move is likely a shot across Grigson's bow by Irsay.

 

Let's hope this also means Irsay has pulled back Grigson's involvement in game day decisions and let's Pagano have a fair shake for the rest of the season...

 

This is of course assuming that the reports of Grigson's meddling are in fact true.

[ColtsBlueFL]

I was wondering today whether Chud would be willing to take over this dumpster fire or not. He's basically a lock for an OC job next year, at the least. If the offense doesn't kick it into gear, he might be undermining his future prospects. Of course, on the other hand, if this goes well, it's good on him, and maybe it even saves Pagano's job. For a bit.

 

Either way, glad to see this change. It was long overdue, IMO.

 

Good points.  Chudz OC record is a fact, he took the Browns to the  eighth ranked overall offense, sent 4 offensive players to the Pro Bowl and finished 2nd in the AFC North with a record of 10-6.  Later, he went to the Carolina Panthers, who had one of the worst offenses and just drafted Cam Newton, took them to a top 10 (almost top 5) offense.

 

So if he can't make this set of players work, then it points to a problem much deeper than play calling and game planning.  I think eyes would go more toward Grigson if Chud doesn't make a dramatic turnaround.

 

I feel for Pep, but this was a change that had to be made.  Now, we can see how deep and systemic the issues are.  Outside folks are still pointing fingers at the TRich trade and B. Werner drafts, along with the Dorsett pick; which falls squarely on Grigson.  (I still rank the Dorsett pick similar to Reggie Wayne years ago, still can play out to be a winner).

[Coffeedrinker]

That's one of my problems with the Luck era. They have surrounded the kid with inexperience/or guys with mediocre resumes. If you compare it to the Manning era, Peyton started off with

Bill Polian: proven

Jim Mora : proven

Tom Moore: proven

Howard Mudd: proven

At the time the Colts hired Pagano, I made a comment that I didn't think it was a good idea to have a rookie GM and a rookie HC at the same time.  One of them should know the situational pitfalls that happen when you try certain things.

[RollerColt]

Correct. When you are troubleshooting a problem, any problem, you remove a single piece and look at the results. If things don't get better, then you replace a different piece. If things do get better, you stop replacing pieces.

 

In this situation, this move by Irsay is ideal. You take out the least disruptive and least expensive piece in the system. This piece is the controller for the faults we've seen in the system. Offense is broken? Remove whatever was controlling the offense. If, however, you still have the same faults, then you remove whatever was controlling the controller -- that is, you test the system for the rest of the season and remove the head coach and replace with a new head coach.

 

Then, if they problem persists, you replace the master controller. You get a new GM after next year if all these intermediate fixes don't cure the root problem. The contracts are expiring for HC and GM - you don't even have to make decisions, you just don't renew contracts. Simple fix.

 

But if firing Pep does solve the problem, then you keep your HC and your GM. It means not upsetting and rebuilding the entire system again (new HC and GM would require re-tooling - and that has a huge cost if you consider the perishable years of Andrew Luck).

Do you work in IT? Because that's what I get to do on a daily basis, just on a smaller and much less expensive scale.. hahaha...

[coltsfanatic24]

Pep wasn't the problem he's being used as the scapegoat. Luck threw 40 TDs last year he's just regressed this year. Its not Pep fault that Luck is overthrowing Wr's and not targeting his TEs. Were 3-5 because of Luck's poor play not Pep playcalling.

[RollerColt]

Pep wasn't the problem he's being used as the scapegoat. Luck threw 40 TDs last year he's just regressed this year. Its not Pep fault that Luck is overthrowing Wr's and not targeting his TEs. Were 3-5 because of Luck's poor play not Pep playcalling.

Kinda works both ways if you think about it: if we're 3-5 due to Luck's play, then the 40 TDs last year were more a by product of Luck than Pep.

 

Or you can give Pep credit for both aspects. I personally see that this year has been a collective failure from everyone across the board. The real scapegoat is the fans out of this whole mess...

[Jason_]

Pep wasn't the problem he's being used as the scapegoat. Luck threw 40 TDs last year he's just regressed this year. Its not Pep fault that Luck is overthrowing Wr's and not targeting his TEs. Were 3-5 because of Luck's poor play not Pep playcalling.

 

Pep absolutely was part of the problem.  

[iraleec]

Remember,  they can always fire Pagano at the end of the year...

 

Not that I want them to,   just saying.....

not be surprised if its befor end of year

[DougDew]

Even Dungy is complaining about the firing, but who cares. Going forward, if Luck continues to regress, then we can say it's him and not the system with Chad as OC.

And so did Mike Wells and Stephen Holder.  Are you really surprised that Dungy would complain too?

 

There was also another common phrase in this country "birds of the same feather flock together"

[NewEra]

And so did Mike Wells and Stephen Holder. Are you really surprised that Dungy would complain too?

Scapegoat...obviously these * haven't been watching the offense. Screw Dungy. Why do t he cry some more about how there needs to be more black owners and coaches. Try earning the damn job.

[Jason_]

Remember,  they can always fire Pagano at the end of the year...

 

Not that I want them to,   just saying.....

 

Actually, at the end of the year, Pagano's contract will have run out, so they wouldn't be able to fire him at that point. ;)  

[aavmarine]

How does this help our front five?

[DougDew]

Actually, at the end of the year, Pagano's contract will have run out, so they wouldn't be able to fire him at that point. ;)  

Yes.  The issue is whether or not Pagano's contract is renewed.  Unless he screws up..uh..like calling fake punt plays, he won't be fired midseason.

 

I think there is a decent chance he will have more time to be the HC he wants to be.  If he lacked confidence in the OC (that he "reportedly" didn't want), he may have been trying to babysit that side of the ball.

 

One step at a time.  We shouldn't conclude that Pagano is gone.  See if there is a change in the O's performance, then see how well the entire team performs from that change.

[cjwhiskers]

You guys forget that Grigson helped put together the defense that's actually keeping us in these games in spite of the god awful position the offense has single handily put us in every single game. 

[SilentHill]

I didn't say Pep was awesome but Grigson should have been fired first.

 

Why? What immediate fix does this do?

 

IMHO this was the BEST and ONLY option for a mid seaosn firing. The playbook wont change, just the play calls and  that IMHO was our biggest flaw for the last 2 seasons.