HC Search Discussion Thread

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

4 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

If they blocked Bradley from leaving, they are re-signing Yannick and no way are they trading Buckner.

 

Also, does that mean that Bradley wanted to leave? That brings up a different question.

I think maybe Okereke stays too. He mentioned how he would like to stay if it was same defensive staff. I just don’t know if colts can afford him.

[Superman]

9 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Certainly makes me think they want to keep Bradley and the 4-3 they are currently running.  

 

Very possible. It could also mean they want to give the new HC the opportunity to keep the defensive staff in tact. I'm not a huge fan of parts of Bradley's philosophies on game day, but he and his staff have a reputation for being good at teaching and developing, and several of the position coaches are highly regarded. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll require the HC to keep the defensive staff.

[Boss7894]

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I think maybe Okereke stays too. He mentioned how he would like to stay if it was same defensive staff. I just don’t know if colts can afford him.

Who the first to go? Lol Random I know

[#12.]

The new coach could spice up Gus' defense a little, too.  Keep the general framework, add some flavor.

[JColts72]

1 minute ago, #12. said:

The new coach could spice up Gus' defense a little, too.  Keep the general framework, add some flavor.

Especially if it's Morris.

[BlackTiger]

20 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Certainly makes me think they want to keep Bradley and the 4-3 they are currently running.  

CB has already said he doesnt think the 3-4 is a good fit for and indoor team.  The rush line backer is a hard position to fill and they are expensive, i dont think it makes much sense for us now

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

With no leaks coming from this search I think we are just going to get a colts twitter post saying we have hired so and so. 

[JColts72]

1 minute ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

With no leaks coming from this search I think we are just going to get a colts twitter post saying we have hired so and so. 

If only so

[MB-ColtsFan]

Just now, JColts72 said:

If only so

If only when...

[richard pallo]

8 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

If they blocked Bradley from leaving, they are re-signing Yannick and no way are they trading Buckner.

 

Also, does that mean that Bradley wanted to leave? That brings up a different question.

Ballard traded for Yannick and he led the team in sacks.  I think we are resigning him.   If Bradley wanted to leave why would you stop him?  That tells you he wants no part in staying even if there is a possibility the new HC wants him.  Makes no sense stopping him.  So now you have a disgruntled coach.  Doubt Ballard goes down that path.  I think a team wanted to interview him.

[richard pallo]

8 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

With no leaks coming from this search I think we are just going to get a colts twitter post saying we have hired so and so. 

No leaks , no scheduled 3rd interviews,  very quiet.  You could be right.

[t-rex]

9 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Very possible. It could also mean they want to give the new HC the opportunity to keep the defensive staff in tact. I'm not a huge fan of parts of Bradley's philosophies on game day, but he and his staff have a reputation for being good at teaching and developing, and several of the position coaches are highly regarded. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll require the HC to keep the defensive staff.

 

I hope at this point they are requiring the new HC to keep Bradley. Because if he was blocked, he's losing out on other DC positions as they quickly fill. To hire a new HC a week from now, and then release him another week or so later, would give him few, if any opportunities. 

 

Bradley would have to sit out the year.

 

I want to be a fan of a team that doesn't conduct business this way. 

[MB-ColtsFan]

3 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

Ballard traded for Yannick and he led the team in sacks.  I think we are resigning him.   If Bradley wanted to leave why would you stop him?  That tells you he wants no part in staying even if there is a possibility the new HC wants him.  Makes no sense stopping him.  So now you have a disgruntled coach.  Doubt Ballard goes down that path.  I think a team wanted to interview him.

CB has to think this team is close.  He probably feels if he can fix the offense this year or next then we're a contender.  If not then why wouldn't he be willing to get another 4-3 DC?  Just typing out loud here.

[#12.]

Just now, BlackTiger said:

CB has already said he doesnt think the 3-4 is a good fit for and indoor team.  The rush line backer is a hard position to fill and they are expensive, i dont think it makes much sense for us now

 

Last year when they were looking for a DC, Ballard said it doesn't really matter.  No one plays a base defense much these days anyway, and any good coach can adapt.

 

That said, I'm guessing they are looking at Morris and Martindale as HCs, not DCs - a coach of the whole team.  It's like when Pittsburgh hired Tomlin.  He was a 4-3, Tampa 2 guy who they brought to Blitzburgh, but they were hiring him to be head coach, not DC.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

11 minutes ago, richard pallo said:

No leaks , no scheduled 3rd interviews,  very quiet.  You could be right.

It’s just going to pop up when it happens lol.

 

Zach hicks kind of confirmed what Breer is saying in that he is hearing Morris or Callahan. Steichen could be the dark horse.

[richard pallo]

2 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It’s just going to pop up when it happens lol.

 

Zach hicks kind of confirmed what Breer is saying in that he is hearing Morris or Callahan. Steichen could be the dark horse.

It feels like they are finalizing a contract today and we could know soon.  Just a gut feeling.

[DougDew]

40 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

If they blocked Bradley from leaving, they are re-signing Yannick and no way are they trading Buckner.

 

Also, does that mean that Bradley wanted to leave? That brings up a different question.

I mentioned a few days ago that many here on the forum are assuming that the new HC is going to have to hire new ACs, like a new President installs a new Cabinet.  Not necessarily.  I can see Ballard wanting to not let Bradley go, not wanting to redo the defensive personnel to fit a new scheme, so the new HC must work with Gus as the DC.

 

Its also why the Colts seem to not be in a rush.  They know that the only Ac the HC needs to find is an OC...all of the other ACs are already here.

[bluephantom87]

1 hour ago, richard pallo said:

One possibility is Bieniemy.  After the Super Bowl he is no longer under contract with KC.  Don’t know how well he knows Wink and coming to a team where he lost out on the HC position seems unlikely but he does know Ballard very well.  So there are a lot of factors in play.  He could be an interesting possibility.

 

I like that possibility but like you said would Bieniemy come if he lost out with the HC position here? I don't know but I hope the team would go after a top tier oc IF they go the dc route.

[Superman]

18 minutes ago, t-rex said:

 

I hope at this point they are requiring the new HC to keep Bradley. Because if he was blocked, he's losing out on other DC positions as they quickly fill. To hire a new HC a week from now, and then release him another week or so later, would give him few, if any opportunities. 

 

Bradley would have to sit out the year.

 

I want to be a fan of a team that doesn't conduct business this way. 

 

I personally don't care. I get where you're coming from, but it's business. I do wonder if assistant coaches ever negotiate buyouts into their contracts, but I never hear about anyone executing a buyout, so probably not.

 

In Bradley's case, he would still be paid, and if he wanted he could latch on with another team as a senior assistant or something, like John Fox with the Colts last year, or a few years ago when Rob Chudzinski was with Pagano and no one could say what his actual job was. I think Bradley could definitely get a gig if he wanted/needed.

 

My preference would be that the new HC has autonomy over his staff to a reasonable degree. On the other hand, I think it could be considered reasonable to ask the new HC to keep an assistant for at least one year, but that should be an exception, IMO.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

The agents for these candidates are bring pretty tight lipped when the national guys don’t even have info.

[stitches]

11 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I personally don't care. I get where you're coming from, but it's business. I do wonder if assistant coaches ever negotiate buyouts into their contracts, but I never hear about anyone executing a buyout, so probably not.

 

In Bradley's case, he would still be paid, and if he wanted he could latch on with another team as a senior assistant or something, like John Fox with the Colts last year, or a few years ago when Rob Chudzinski was with Pagano and no one could say what his actual job was. I think Bradley could definitely get a gig if he wanted/needed.

 

My preference would be that the new HC has autonomy over his staff to a reasonable degree. On the other hand, I think it could be considered reasonable to ask the new HC to keep an assistant for at least one year, but that should be an exception, IMO.

The thing with our DC is... both times we've hired a DC it seems like the hire was Ballard's guy. IMO it looks very much like he doesn't want to change personnel and schemes. IMO he thinks he can scout for that scheme and he thinks that scheme is giving us some advantages. There have also been some rumors(Spears, no idea how much I trust him on this) saying the Colts are actually telling candidates that they want to to keep DC and ST coordinators. Which again... even without the sourcing, when looking from the side looks exactly like what's happening. At this point my assumption is this is true. 

 

The more interesting question is - what happens if they hire a defensive HC? This looks like it would be a lot more forcing of a move and not sure if Raheem Morris for example would or should agree to this. 

[DougDew]

5 minutes ago, stitches said:

There have also been some rumors(Spears, no idea how much I trust him on this) saying the Colts are actually telling candidates that they want to to keep DC and ST coordinators.

If you look at Ballard's history, hiring the DCs, conservative when it comes to Change, how long the process has taken, and just my overall impression that Ballard and Irsay want to control a lot of things; I think your comment likely reflects what's going on. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

7 minutes ago, stitches said:

The thing with our DC is... both times we've hired a DC it seems like the hire was Ballard's guy. IMO it looks very much like he doesn't want to change personnel and schemes. IMO he thinks he can scout for that scheme and he thinks that scheme is giving us some advantages. There have also been some rumors(Spears, no idea how much I trust him on this) saying the Colts are actually telling candidates that they want to to keep DC and ST coordinators. Which again... even without the sourcing, when looking from the side looks exactly like what's happening. At this point my assumption is this is true. 

 

The more interesting question is - what happens if they hire a defensive HC? This looks like it would be a lot more forcing of a move and not sure if Raheem Morris for example would or should agree to this. 

I think them wanting to keep the defensive staff is true but spears crossed the line saying it was going to be mandated and forced on the new coach.

[JColts72]

6 hours ago, Moe said:

I predict we know by 10:00 am this morning what HC.

That time came and went.

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I think them wanting to keep the defensive staff is true but spears crossed the line saying it was going to be mandated and forced on the new coach.

Some candidates may object to such mandate.

[t-rex]

21 minutes ago, bluephantom87 said:

 

I like that possibility but like you said would Bieniemy come if he lost out with the HC position here? I don't know but I hope the team would go after a top tier oc IF they go the dc route.

 

I think he would be the OC here if he could call plays. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

It also puts a lot less pressure  on Callahan or Steichen if they are the hire to not have to stress about defensive staff. Just concentrate on the offensive side of the ball.

[buccolts]

4 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It also puts a lot less pressure  on Callahan or Steichen if they are the hire to not have to stress about defensive staff. Just concentrate on the offensive side of the ball.

Yeah, but his is something I DO NOT want. Then just hire an HC, and one of those two as an OC / Assistant HC.

[Superman]

4 minutes ago, stitches said:

The thing with our DC is... both times we've hired a DC it seems like the hire was Ballard's guy. IMO it looks very much like he doesn't want to change personnel and schemes. IMO he thinks he can scout for that scheme and he thinks that scheme is giving us some advantages. There have also been some rumors(Spears, no idea how much I trust him on this) saying the Colts are actually telling candidates that they want to to keep DC and ST coordinators. Which again... even without the sourcing, when looking from the side looks exactly like what's happening. At this point my assumption is this is true. 

 

The more interesting question is - what happens if they hire a defensive HC? This looks like it would be a lot more forcing of a move and not sure if Raheem Morris for example would or should agree to this. 

 

Since we're assuming Morris is one of the favorites, I guess it helps that he and Bradley have worked together and seem like they'd fit (at least on the surface). Don't know if the same is true of Martindale...

 

I think we know Ballard's influence on the defense, that seems obvious. Outside of his scheme preference, I don't know if it's true that Bradley was Ballard's guy. Maybe he was, the Seattle connection might be a factor there (maybe a Dodds guy, but it's the same thing). But I felt Reich was instrumental in the hire. The scheme is traditionally easier to scout for and less expensive to maintain, but Ballard's staff keeps striking out at pass rusher, drafting guys who would be better fits for a 3-4 Sam or a 3-4 DE than they are as a 3-point edge rusher in a four man front. There have been some injuries, and I have questions about some of the player development in the Eberflus era. But we've seen almost no payoff from all those second round DEs.

 

As for requiring that the new HC keeps the coordinators, I don't know... I think it's basic practice around the league not to let your assistants leave. The Panthers did this with Wilks, the Broncos did it with Evero. Spears might be correct, but it could just be SOP. Bradley and the defensive staff have good standing around the league, and Bubba is one of the best STCs, so yeah, keep your contractual control until you decide to go in another direction.

[Superman]

 

 

We're losing Scottie Montgomery. Maybe his contract was expired? Or maybe this is a signal we're hiring an offensive minded HC who will have autonomy over that side of the ball? I think probably Scottie's contract was up... I like him, he would have been one of the coaches I wanted to stay.

[Lifetime Colt]

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It also puts a lot less pressure  on Callahan or Steichen if they are the hire to not have to stress about defensive staff. Just concentrate on the offensive side of the ball.

Keeping Gus and Bubba also maintains some kind of continuity to the chaos that could develop with wholesale changes to the entire the team. Part of the issues from this past season, concerning the players, was all of the changes throughout the year, mainly on offense. Fix the offense, draft smartly, scheme in the present, not the past, and add playmakers.

[danlhart87]

I predict Monday after SB

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

Broncos are having their presser with Payton right now and we just sit and wait lol.

[krunk]

28 minutes ago, stitches said:

The thing with our DC is... both times we've hired a DC it seems like the hire was Ballard's guy. IMO it looks very much like he doesn't want to change personnel and schemes. IMO he thinks he can scout for that scheme and he thinks that scheme is giving us some advantages. There have also been some rumors(Spears, no idea how much I trust him on this) saying the Colts are actually telling candidates that they want to to keep DC and ST coordinators. Which again... even without the sourcing, when looking from the side looks exactly like what's happening. At this point my assumption is this is true. 

 

The more interesting question is - what happens if they hire a defensive HC? This looks like it would be a lot more forcing of a move and not sure if Raheem Morris for example would or should agree to this. 

Morris took on the scheme of the former coordinator Staley when he took the Rams job. It wouldnt be the first time. And im assuming that what we do now is closer to what Morris is used to anyway.

[DougDew]

26 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

I think them wanting to keep the defensive staff is true but spears crossed the line saying it was going to be mandated and forced on the new coach.

It won't be forced.  Its just that the candidate who expresses a desire to work with Gus will likely have a leg up on the others.  

[RollerColt]

8 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Broncos are having their presser with Payton right now and we just sit and wait lol.

Well if we're going with Steichen there's not much we can really do right now. Can't announce anything until next week. 

 

Plus, I would be hesitant to just leak out that it's him, hire all of his coordinators just to get burned for the 2nd time. 

[NewColtsFan]

14 minutes ago, danlhart87 said:

I predict Monday after SB

The NFL typically discourages teams from making ANY big announcements the day after.    They don’t want any hiring news to upstage any other game news about the SB.  
 

So, Tuesday is typically the soonest day to announce.   A decision (assuming it’s been made) might leak out, but I don’t think it will officially be made Monday. 

[BlackTiger]

1 hour ago, #12. said:

Last year when they were looking for a DC, Ballard said it doesn't really matter.

He has also made comments that lead me to think he does at least have a preference.  Doenst mean he would never bend under any circumstance but personally i do think it matters

 

There is logic to back the indoor thing, plus we already have 4-3 guys signed and no 3-4 rush line backer which is the most expensive position on the defense 

 

A 3-4 wouldnt be ideal for Shag Leonards skill set and he has a big contract already

[NewColtsFan]

23 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

 

We're losing Scottie Montgomery. Maybe his contract was expired? Or maybe this is a signal we're hiring an offensive minded HC who will have autonomy over that side of the ball? I think probably Scottie's contract was up... I like him, he would have been one of the coaches I wanted to stay.

Well ….   Damn!    
 

I was hoping to avoid this.   But in the scenario and circumstance the Colts are in I guess it couldn't be helped.    I suspect losing coaches the Colts were hoping to keep is going to happen a few times more in the next 10 days or so.