Caldwell Fired [Merge with Poll]

[sb2001]

Whats your thought on Caldwell being fired

[sfergson727]

Considering he never should have been promoted to head coach in the first place, today's action was about 3 years too late...but I'll take it none the less.

[GoDeep]

Considering he never should have been promoted to head coach in the first place, today's action was about 3 years too late...but I'll take it none the less.

Agreed.

[presto123]

This will be one of the biggest landslide polls ever.

[buccolts]

If the goal was to make a portion of Colts fans happy, it was absolutely the right thing to do.

If the goal was to go in a new direction, it may have been the right thing to do.

If the goal was to win more games without Peyton Manning. Start this thread in a few years.

[number28]

all we have left to do is to pick up a pedestrian off the street and make him our new HC.

same like we did with this GM we got.

Get ready for a rough year if Manning is not back.

[SilentHill]

This will be one of the biggest landslide polls ever.

This.

[coltsfan84]

Caldwell was the fall guy.He was simply a puppet of the Polians trying to deal with a limited supply of tools available to try to make the best of a terrible situation compounded by the fact the Polians didn't have a long term master plan.

[LaughingAtIrsay]

We ask for change and change has been granted. Now I can change my ''Fire Caldwell'' picture.

[colts_mp]

Out with the old and in with the new seems to be the new direction Irsay is taking us.

New GM

New HC

New Qb.

Gonna be hard to win in the near future.

[fthoodcoltsfan]

Caldwell was the fall guy.He was simply a puppet of the Polians trying to deal with a limited supply of tools available to try to make the best of a terrible situation compounded by the fact the Polians didn't have a long term master plan.

How was Caldwell the fall guy? The Polians were fired well before he was. I really do believe them when they say they sat down, talked and thought about it, and believe that this is what's best for the team (which I agree with by the way)

[al19nb]

After a two win season there was no other choice he had to see it coming.

[TWR1993]

Even though i feel bad when anyone loses their job I think this was the best thing for the franchise moving forward

[Blackhawk4]

I got mixed feelings. For the most part I have no problem with it, but I'm curious how Caldwell would have done a year coaching without Bill Polian's gaze on him...Something tells me it would've been different (For the better). Also the way it happened was just weird to me....You have him there a day or a few days ago interviewing spags for a DC position then fire him the next day? It seemed silly to do that in my opinion. That talk/firing should've came earlier before interviewing spags.

[NM_Colts]

Caldwell was the fall guy.He was simply a puppet of the Polians trying to deal with a limited supply of tools available to try to make the best of a terrible situation compounded by the fact the Polians didn't have a long term master plan.

I agree. ^^ I also voted yes in the poll. My feelings were mixed because while I agree with the points you mentioned, I had this gut feeling watching him on the sideline that he he was in waaaay over his head. I never got the feeling of confidence from him or in him. A good man but not a HC.

[SilentHill]

Caldwell was the fall guy.He was simply a puppet of the Polians trying to deal with a limited supply of tools available to try to make the best of a terrible situation compounded by the fact the Polians didn't have a long term master plan.

If that's true, then why on earth would one want to keep the puppet when they can the master?

[coltsfan84]

I believe Caldwell was only doing what Polian was telling him to do as far as game day strategy.The Polians were fired,pure opinion and my opinion doesn't really matter , for not having a long term plan.Caldwell,again pure opinion/speculation,was fired for game day performance,thus the fall guy.

This is normal for a NFL coach anyway.It doesn't matter how well a job you do of coaching,if the numbers aren't there regardless of whatever reason,no excuses,the coach is the first to go.

It would have been interesting to see how he did without being controlled and being able to execute his own game plans.

[Moose Of Woe]

If the goal was to make a portion of Colts fans happy, it was absolutely the right thing to do.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's not some piddly portion of fans - it's the vast majority. Like, 3/4 of them around the globe at least.

The forum is just a small group of people and I don't consider the poll a good sample size. Just call it a hunch.

[MAC]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's not some piddly portion of fans - it's the vast majority. Like, 3/4 of them around the globe at least.

The forum is just a small group of people and I don't consider the poll a good sample size. Just call it a hunch.

Who knows. Common sense does suggest however that those who want change are far more likely to be vocal about it, and far more likely to sign on mid-day after the press conference announcing said change and vote about it.

[Coltssouth]

I voted with mixed feelings.

I really really liked Jim as a person and I feel he got a lot of flack for things that were out of his decision making process. I personally would have liked to have seen him finish out his contract. I don't see any coach that could have pulled out what he had to deal with this year.

I understand management moving on for what they think is best for the team, but I feel he got a bit of a raw deal in the process.

[Ryan Pelley]

Considering he never should have been promoted to head coach in the first place, today's action was about 3 years too late...but I'll take it none the less.

My exact thoughts.

[ThatOneColtFan]

Why do people think Manning is going somewhere? If he is healthy, he will be in blue and white, no doubt.

Btw, is it possible for Peyton to restructure his contract, or renegotiate that 28million he's due? Nothing against him, but, it would be nice if he took a cut, he did stand around and do nothing this year.

[Case]

One persons view

And no cant reconstruct bonus

[MAC]

Why do people think Manning is going somewhere? If he is healthy, he will be in blue and white, no doubt.

Did you watch the press conference? The closest thing to even a vague vote of confidence that this would be the case was Irsay saying that in 98 some vet players came back and contributed to the club. Otherwise there was a lot of hemming and hawing and referring to the painful nature of change. Combine that with Irsay's very specific statement that he wanted more balance with the salary cap strongly suggested that he intends to reduce the salaries on offense. Hmmmm, where do you start first with that concept?.

Of course the only reason that Luck would be cheap is because he's a rookie. If he becomes a franchise QB, in four years you are right back in the same place. I really don't understand how any team could anticipate avoiding problems like that unless they mimic the Ravens - who are one of the most boring teams in the entire league. The entire topic just makes me sick to my stomach.

[ColtsPacersfan]

Every negative thing said about GM/Irsay of having no guts to move forward, I take back- You guys have more of a spine and the some, then I thought.

I agree, I also take mine back too. I am sorry Irsay. I will never question again. I will wait until I see it come out of your mouth and not from the media

[GoColts8818]

You seem upset. Might want to breathe a little. Long deep breathes.

I don't care how much you backtrack. It is what it is.

I had history on my side of the debate. You had "feelings". Don't blame me for you being singled out here. You did that to yourself.

I am not upset. I was just pointing out you didn't "have" to call me out like you did. You did it because you wanted to remind me that I was wrong on my stance at the start of the year. Like I have said to many people, not just you, saying I told you so doesn't generally go over well on a forum. You were right I gave you your credit for it.

I didn't do it to my self. I don't know how many times people are wrong on this forum every day. Yet very rarely do you see someone to go to the trouble to say hey look at you, you were wrong because odds are if you stick around here long everyone is going to be wrong at some point. This isn't the first time I've been wrong and it probably wont be the last. I just gave my opinion at the time and clearly it was wrong which was proven today and which is why it changed when I realized it was wrong. Also I know I wasn't the only person who held the view point that at the start of the season that Caldwell wouldn't be fired. I don't see you going after those people. That's singling someone out which is exactly what you are doing. If you want to do it fine. Like I said I was wrong with my stance at the start of the year and you were right.

Also what does history have to do with this? I am not backing away from mine. I've said in all my responses to you that I was wrong in my stance at the start of the year and you were right. I just pointed out to you how my opinion had changed over time. If you are going to go after me for part of my history at least look at all of it including the most recent part where my view point changed. Surely I am not the first person in the world to change their mind on a view point or be wrong on a message board.

Also it's not back tracking it's changing my poistion like I said I did. I also freely admitted I was wrong at the start of the season. I gave you your credit which is clearly what you wanted why else jump on the first post you saw from me and take a poistion like I was questioning if Caldwell had been fired when I wasn't I was questioning if Spags had been hired. You wanted your I told you so moment and you got it. Congradulations. Now can we move on with this topic or do you want to spend more time telling me that I was wrong even though I am admiting I was wrong at the start of the year?

[colts_mp]

Seems like a lot of words just to say "oops, called that one wrong".

[hawkeyes]

Considering he never should have been promoted to head coach in the first place, today's action was about 3 years too late...but I'll take it none the less.

THIS! The guy is NOT HC material and I can not see him ever being given that position in the future.

[thecorn4]

I hope he lands a job at what he does best, being a qb coach, maybe college.

[-JJ-]

We ask for change and change has been granted. Now I can change my ''Fire Caldwell'' picture.

about time. I was sick of looking at it:)

[buccolts]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's not some piddly portion of fans - it's the vast majority. Like, 3/4 of them around the globe at least.

The forum is just a small group of people and I don't consider the poll a good sample size. Just call it a hunch.

My personal guess (and I could be wrong) is that about 50% were going to be upset if a change wasn't made.

Under 5% were going to be upset if he was let go.

Leaving about 45% of those who didn't have a strong preference, and would trust/support whatever decision the FO made.

Me? I'm in the 45%

I didn't, and won't vote.

[ColtsPacersfan]

I think it was the right call. Grant it, Caldwell might be a great person which I think he is. But he is just not an head coaching type of the guy. There is nothing wrong with that, a lot of people are not fit for a certain job. He just rode on Dungy coat tails. He should not have had the coaching job in the first place. I do wish Caldwell all the best on what his future may hold.

[MTC]

I'm going to be honest here. Jim Caldwell had to go. He looked so clueless every game like a puppet. Even though he seems like a really nice guy, he cant coach at all. When they went 14-2, it wasn't Caldwell it was all Peyton Manning and their offense.

[Dawson_18]

Great guy, but lacks the HC mentality, come on Gruden!

[ColtsPacersfan]

I am waiting what Dungy reaction is. He said a week ago he would be shocked if he got fired. I don't know since Caldwell is his friend that is why he said it. Or he really believes that Caldwell done a great job, and is actually shocked. If that is the case, I think Dungy stands alone of being shocked over the firing.

[everybodysgotone]

I voted the Caldwell firing as a wise move. It was correct. It was also the only way the organization could have gone after the Polians were replaced.....although Jim Caldwell should have lost his HC job on merit alone. Again, not everyone has the stomach for decisions like this but I agree with and support Irsay/Grigson 100%.

[pacolts56]

I voted that they made the right decision and expressed yesterday and over the last several weeks that the direction the team was going and with the amount of roster turnover there may be.... that I had my doubts about Caldwell and his staff's ability to coach up so many young players quickly and effectively. Caldwell did a good job when we went 14-2....but that roster was still fairly well stocked with set pieces.

The O-line is currently under construction with Castonzo, Ijalana, the likelyhood of Jeff perhaps leaving sometime soon, plus the OG position still not cemented well enough. Add in the other roster uncertainties and the possibly substantial turnover of players....and you're asking a guy and his rather unseasoned staff to take on a task he never really had to. Caldwell....along with Tom Moore and Howard Mudd....did a pretty good job with a ready-baked 2009 Colts team that at the time maybe needed a few tweaks, but was plenty good enough to make a Super Bowl run.

Unfortunately....that is no longer the case and we'll be fortunate even if Peyton returns to full health to be able to assemble enough pieces thru the draft or free agency for one more SB run. But those added pieces will need very effective coaching probably in a 1-2 season time frame....and I'm not sure Irsay and Grigson had the confidence that this staff could do that.

I didn't.

[manningstheman]

I I agree with the above statement that Caldwell never should have been the HC. Infact, I believe alot of people thought the same way when he was hired. I only accepted it because Dungy sort of appointed Caldwell the future HC a few years before he left. So, I respected coach Dungy so much that I figured he wouldnt put the organization in a position for failure. The problem was, Dungy probably didnt see coach Moore and Mudd getting let go, or how ever you want to spell it out. Fired, retired, whatever. So, I dont know. I just thought Dungy wouldnt have done that to us. But, looking back, Dungy is the man the put Caldwell in that position. I know Irsay and Polian made the final call on putting Caldwell there, but the call had been made by Dungy before that. So, maybe we blame him for that.

[hschultz9975]

Right call. Glad to see it. Let's get a coach in here that doesn't call timeouts in the other teams two-minute drill and shows a little emotion on the sidelines at least. This is an emotional game for the fans and the players. Seeing a timid coach on the sidelines just never did anything for me. I know it won't happen, but it'd be really great if the chin wanted to coach the Colts and get out from behind the CBS desk.

[manningstheman]

With that said, maybe Dungy is ready to come back to football. Yo, Dungy, we need a new HC. How about comming back.