Colts new HC: Pagano

[BeeR]

Might be buried in another thread just thought I'd throw it out, DMD/etc delete if it's too duplicative.

 

Not up on the guy but a defensive-minded guy works for me. Just hope the OC is solid.

[Big John]

Might be buried in another thread just thought I'd throw it out, DMD/etc delete if it's too duplicative.

 

Not up on the guy but a defensive-minded guy works for me. Just hope the OC is solid.

Yes it is

[BeeR]

d'oh - ty

[CaptainHook]

Clyde Christensen has not been fired, as far as I know. It looks like he survived the purge and will remain as offensive coordinator.

[Shorttynaz]

Clyde Christensen has not been fired, as far as I know. It looks like he survived the purge and will remain as offensive coordinator.

As a Colts fan, this gives me hope that they're not ready to blow up the offense just yet. Maybe there's still hope that they keep Manning.

 

Should they let him go - they should look at Todd Haley. While he was a disaster as a head coach, he's a hell of an OC. Look what he did with the Cardinals the year Warner led them to the Superbowl. He had that offense clicking. At least consider the guy..

[Cunning Runt]

As a Colts fan, this gives me hope that they're not ready to blow up the offense just yet. Maybe there's still hope that they keep Manning.

 

Should they let him go - they should look at Todd Haley. While he was a disaster as a head coach, he's a hell of an OC. Look what he did with the Cardinals the year Warner led them to the Superbowl. He had that offense clicking. At least consider the guy..

 

And as a Colts' fan, I hope they move on from Manning.

[Shorttynaz]

And as a Colts' fan, I hope they move on from Manning.

I hope they find a way to work it out. A healthy Manning still gives this team the best chance to win. Sure Luck would get the immediate experience should Manning not be there, but look at these guys who have potential and sit and learn for a year or two.

 

Sh!tty thing is the rediculous contract they offered Manning last year. Had they not overloaded it with these outrageous bonuses, they could at minimum get SOMETHING in return. I mean seriously. If Carson Palmer can get you TWO first round draft picks what's Manning gonna get you..??

[Cunning Runt]

I hope they find a way to work it out. A healthy Manning still gives this team the best chance to win. Sure Luck would get the immediate experience should Manning not be there, but look at these guys who have potential and sit and learn for a year or two.

 

Sh!tty thing is the rediculous contract they offered Manning last year. Had they not overloaded it with these outrageous bonuses, they could at minimum get SOMETHING in return. I mean seriously. If Carson Palmer can get you TWO first round draft picks what's Manning gonna get you..??

 

I hear you, but $28M by March 8th?!

 

You gotta move on if that's the only hand there is to play.

 

I know Manning says he wants to play his entire career in Indy, but that's his heart talking. I've got to think his mind is saying something else. He sees the writing on the wall. He knows the Colts are in a bad spot where he's concerned with the $28M coming up, and he knows the Colts have the #1 pick with the next "can't miss QB" prospect waiting there for them. And he's seen a new GM, new head coach, and pretty much entire coaching staff brought in. No one knows what his neck is going to be like at the start of the season right now and definitely not by March 8th. He knows the Colts are not going to drop another $28M on him, Peyton Manning or not, after spending over $20M this past year and not getting a single snap out of him.

 

So the way I'd like this to go down is for the Colts to release him, and if he's a really a man of his word ("I want to play my whole career in Indy") he not sign with anyone else for several months while everyone gets a clearer picture of what the neck situation is then if he can play, re-sign him as a free agent.

 

But if signs with someone else and doesn't give the Colts a chance as a free agent, then Peyton's all about lip service and I say F him. I think the Colts have treated Manning VERY well his entire career. I believe he owes it to the Colts to allow them to not pay the $28M but still have a chance to keep him on more palatable terms.

[CaptainHook]

Especially since they paid him $26,000,000 to not play last year. You are exactly right, they do not owe him anything. I hope they release him and he returns as well, but I doubt it. Somebody will take a chance and offer him a lot of money. And you're right. We'll see if Peyton really wants to stay in Indy his entire career or not.

Edited January 26, 2012 by CaptainHook

[stevegrab]

If the Colts release him I don't see why he should try to return to Indy somehow, isn't that their way of saying they don't need/want him anymore?

 

If the $28 million due in March is the issue they'll figure some way to work around that.

 

Otherwise if they release him some other team will likely offer him something, will the Colts be one of those teams?

 

I'm not saying the Colts are screwing him if they release him, just that it would be better for everybody at that point for him to move on (retire or sign with another team).

[CaptainHook]

No, they are saying they can't pay another $28,000,000 to a guy they already paid $26,000,000 to not play.

[tonyr0802]

I hear you, but $28M by March 8th?!

 

You gotta move on if that's the only hand there is to play.

 

I know Manning says he wants to play his entire career in Indy, but that's his heart talking. I've got to think his mind is saying something else. He sees the writing on the wall. He knows the Colts are in a bad spot where he's concerned with the $28M coming up, and he knows the Colts have the #1 pick with the next "can't miss QB" prospect waiting there for them. And he's seen a new GM, new head coach, and pretty much entire coaching staff brought in. No one knows what his neck is going to be like at the start of the season right now and definitely not by March 8th. He knows the Colts are not going to drop another $28M on him, Peyton Manning or not, after spending over $20M this past year and not getting a single snap out of him.

 

So the way I'd like this to go down is for the Colts to release him, and if he's a really a man of his word ("I want to play my whole career in Indy") he not sign with anyone else for several months while everyone gets a clearer picture of what the neck situation is then if he can play, re-sign him as a free agent.

 

But if signs with someone else and doesn't give the Colts a chance as a free agent, then Peyton's all about lip service and I say F him. I think the Colts have treated Manning VERY well his entire career. I believe he owes it to the Colts to allow them to not pay the $28M but still have a chance to keep him on more palatable terms.

 

This is the most logical statement I've seen in regards to this situation.

 

My personal opinion is that the Colts cut him and he moves on to another team. If I were Manning I'm not sure I'd want to play my career out in Indy at this point. He has to realize the short time he has left to play, he surely wants to have every chance to win as many rings as possible in that time frame, and the Colts just don't offer that opportunity right now.

 

I think both side have an emotional departure, wish things had ended on different terms, but realize it's a business and hard decisions sometimes have to be made.

[Cunning Runt]

No, they are saying they can't pay another $28,000,000 to a guy they already paid $26,000,000 to not play.

 

Yup.

 

They'd love to keep him and I personally think if they knew for certain that his neck was up to snuff at the time that the $28M is payable, which is only a month and a half away, that they'd pay it, I really do.

 

But you can't expect the Colts to roll the dice with another $28M on top of the $26M they just paid if it's not a sure thing. And it won't be. It'll be too soon to tell by March 8th. As much the Colts would like to keep him, they're gonna have to release him.

[CaptainHook]

Chuck Pagano considers this the ultimate, the pinnacle in coaching.

 

The Indianapolis Colts’ new head coach said in today’s opening remarks at his introductory press conference that landing this job took 28 years of football devotion.

 

He joked that he spent his life to achieve this goal but only about one hour to get ready for Tuesday’s interview with Colts owner Jim Irsay and general manager Ryan Grigson.

 

“I thought for sure that I’d be coming to Indy to play for a world championship,” Pagano said of his previous job as Baltimore defensive coordinator, “and certainly not standing in front of you today as the next Indianapolis Colts head coach.”

Pagano’s Ravens lost 23-20 at New England in the AFC title game.

 

“First and foremost, I want to get to know these players. I want to know what they’re about,” Pagano said of the Colts. “I want to build a relationship.”

 

He said he’s built that everywhere he’s been, with players and others in organizations.

 

“If you don’t have that relationship and that trust, you don’t have anything,” he said.

 

Irsay said eight candidates were considered for the job. Irsay and Grigson said they knew right away that Pagano, 51, was their man.

 

Pagano introduced his wife, Tina, and two of his three daughters, Taylor and Tori. Their other daughter, Tara, has twin girls and could not attend.

 

[CaptainHook]

In one of the happiest days of his life, Sam Pagano let his mind go back to the beginning, when 9-year-old son Chuck was thrilled to scurry around a sideline and squirt water in the faces of the Fairview High School Knights.

 

The father, who coached teams in Boulder, Colo., to three state titles, knew then his son’s destiny.

 

“He is football. He loves it,” the elder Pagano said Wednesday, when asked about Chuck becoming head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

 

The retired 73-year-old coach took a moment to let it sink in.

 

“God, we’re so excited for Chuck,” he said. “He’s worked so hard for this.”

 

It’s been quite the January for the Pagano family. The other son, John, became San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator on Jan. 5.

 

“We’ve had so much good news this month,” Sam said.

 

John, 42 and nine years younger than the brother he idolized growing up, had a premonition Chuck would land the Colts job if interviewed.

 

Well, John knew it. He told others the Baltimore Ravens were losing a defensive coordinator.

 

John was at a Senior Bowl practice in Mobile, Ala., when his brother called Tuesday with the expected news.

 

“I’m sitting here in the stands at the Senior Bowl when he called me and told me he got it and I wanted to start crying,” John said.

 

That’s a rarity, too. The Paganos are all about toughness. Chuck had the reputation as a hard-hitting safety back in the day. That carried him through four years at Wyoming before he had to accept the playing career was finished.

 

“I’m just so damn proud of him, it’s awesome,” John said.

 

As Sam predicted, Chuck followed his destiny after he had to hang up his helmet.

 

“He’s always wanted to be a football coach,” Sam said. “We always say he got his work ethic from his mother (Diana) and coaching from me.”

 

John, too. If the Pagano name sounds familiar to Colts fans, it should. John was on Jim Mora’s staff as a defensive assistant from 1998 to 2001. Mora met the Paganos while coaching the University of Colorado.

 

“It’s a great family,” Mora said. “I’ve known them for a long time. It’s a fabulous opportunity and they got themselves a good man.”

“That football background, that’s good training for a guy. I think Chuck will do a great job. He’s 100 percent football.”

 

If there’s one thing that gets John going, it’s talking with Chuck about the game.

 

“He’s been my No. 1 guy, my No. 1 best friend,” John said. “There’s only one person I truly talk Xs and Os with and that’s him. Our relationship is so special.

“You guys have got yourself a winner there.”

 

Ravens players said they hated to see Chuck go. He balanced discipline and demands with a sense of humor to earned their respect. They thrived off his personality.

 

Colts offensive guard Joe Reitz, who spent two years on the Ravens practice squad in 2008 and 2009, remembered Pagano and was excited about the hiring.

 

“He would always go out of his way to say hello to me even though I was a lowly guy on the practice squad,” said Reitz, a local fan favorite from his days as a former Hamilton Southeastern High School basketball star.

 

“He really cares about all of his players. A couple of my best friends in Baltimore, they’re defensive backs, they would rave about him, how they loved to play for him.”

Chuck was the Ravens’ secondary coach for three years before being named defensive coordinator in 2011.

 

“I know the guys in Baltimore would talk about how he would instill confidence in them, how they could just out and play with that confidence,” Reitz said. “The guys love playing for a guy like that.”

 

The Ravens, who led the AFC with 48 sacks this season, disrupted offenses with an aggressive, blitzing 3-4 scheme.

 

“It will be nice playing for him rather than trying to figure out how to block all the different blitzes they run in Baltimore,” Reitz said.

 

When reviewing Chuck Pagano’s resume, one might question the Colts hiring a guy who has never been a head coach and had only one year as NFL defensive coordinator.

 

Potential critics, for now, will have to take his father’s word for it: Don’t worry about it.

 

“He’s got a lot of work to do, but I’m sure he’ll do it with vigor, enthusiasm and great spirit,” Sam said. “

 

People may look at that (lack of head coaching job), but believe me, he’s ready.”

 

Sam is convinced his old water boy has worked an entire life to earn this opportunity.

 

[BeeR]

? If the Colts release Manning then can't another team claim him off waivers, meaning they own the rights to him? ie it's not up to him then? Also if the Colts release him, he has to figure they don't want him (unless they say otherwise behind closed doors) due to cap situation or moving on or whatever. So he's supposed to twiddle his thumbs and hope they will re-sign him for some discount price?

 

Please. Colts owe Manning a lot more than he owes them. He turned a perennial loser into a perennial winner. Not saying he did it all of course but this year proved how important he was to this team.

 

Colts should find a way to keep him. IMO it's hard but do-able.

[Cunning Runt]

? If the Colts release Manning then can't another team claim him off waivers, meaning they own the rights to him? ie it's not up to him then? Also if the Colts release him, he has to figure they don't want him (unless they say otherwise behind closed doors) due to cap situation or moving on or whatever. So he's supposed to twiddle his thumbs and hope they will re-sign him for some discount price?

 

Please. Colts owe Manning a lot more than he owes them. He turned a perennial loser into a perennial winner. Not saying he did it all of course but this year proved how important he was to this team.

 

Colts should find a way to keep him. IMO it's hard but do-able.

 

I believe he would be an unrestricted free agent and free to sign with whomever he pleases.

 

And I disagree that the Colts owe Manning a thing. I feel that way in general about all players. They get a paycheck. And Manning in particular has received a bunch of PHAT paychecks, plus countless millions more in endorsement opportunities. These are paychecks and endorsements directly resulting from playing football for the Colts, albeit at a high level.

 

If the Colts release him, it's not because the Colts don't want him. It would be because the Colts cannot afford to risk $28M on a player who may never play again. Nobody will know the status of his neck for a while yet - certainly not by March 8th. If Manning were a man of his word and means what he says when he says he wants to play for Indy the rest of his career, he would agree to delay payment of that $28M indefinitely or at least 3-4 months. But he won't agree to extend the deadline. That's pretty telling to me.

 

I will say though that Irsay's comments last night in response to the Manning interview was also pretty telling when he said "the horseshoe is bigger than any one person". I read that as his way of telling the fans that Manning is gone without saying it in those words. Seems like a formality at this point.

 

Beer, your "hard, but doable" comment, to me, would mean Manning would have to be the one compromising, not the Colts.

[BeeR]

I believe he would be an unrestricted free agent and free to sign with whomever he pleases.

OK, thx

 

And I disagree that the Colts owe Manning a thing. I feel that way in general about all players.

I hear you but FYI when I say "they owe him" I don't mean they should sign him and pay him gobs more out of the goodness of their heart. Just that they have more to be grateful for from him than the other way around IMO. But both do obviously.

 

They should sign him because he gives them the best chance for another SB near term by far. Look around; there are no unbeatable, "omg" amazing teams, really. Colts with Manning and a hot streak in the playoffs means as good a shot at a ring as anyone, despite their typical iffy run game and D.

 

They get a paycheck. And Manning in particular has received a bunch of PHAT paychecks, plus countless millions more in endorsement opportunities.

Paychecks he well earned (as much as a ball player can earn such silly amounts of money that is), renegotiated down numerous times to help with salary cap issues, and endorsements he got on his own not from them so not relevant. It's not like he sucked and they paid him a ton anyway.

 

If the Colts release him, it's not because the Colts don't want him. It would be because the Colts cannot afford to risk $28M on a player who may never play again. Nobody will know the status of his neck for a while yet - certainly not by March 8th. If Manning were a man of his word and means what he says when he says he wants to play for Indy the rest of his career, he would agree to delay payment of that $28M indefinitely or at least 3-4 months. But he won't agree to extend the deadline. That's pretty telling to me.

I hear you. I agree I'd like to see him work this w/them and will be PO'd if he doesn't, but it's not like asking for the money due him is so unreasonable. He'd like to stay a Colt but how many times must he defer? How many of us would go "OK sure, let's forget that $28M and maybe figure it out later" (even if we already had millions)? I also know the Colts want him but might have to let him go due to all this.

 

I will say though that Irsay's comments last night in response to the Manning interview was also pretty telling when he said "the horseshoe is bigger than any one person". I read that as his way of telling the fans that Manning is gone without saying it in those words. Seems like a formality at this point.

Nah. I think he's just making it clear that they might have to go that way, and Manning understands that too. But I agree he is leaning that way because of the realities of the numbers but wouldn't read too much into it yet.

 

Beer, your "hard, but doable" comment, to me, would mean Manning would have to be the one compromising, not the Colts.

Maybe so. Again the realities of all they'd have to give up (re-signing people etc) to keep him might be too much.

 

fn stupid contract.