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So the Colts have gotten rid of their Vice Chairman, General Manager, and now the Head Coach. Can we say the Peyton Manning era is over now?
The Indianapolis Colts' sudden crash has cost coach Jim Caldwell his job.
The team announced it fired Caldwell on Tuesday, the second major decision in what is expected to be a long offseason shake-up. Team owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the team's general manager, the day after the season ended.
Caldwell led the Colts to a 14-2 regular season and Super Bowl appearance in the 2009 season, his first after being hand-picked by Tony Dungy to take over the team's head-coaching duties. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. They were upset in the 2010 wild-card round by the New York Jets, following a 10-6 regular season.
Caldwell won his first 14 games, an NFL record for a rookie head coach, and became only the fifth first-year coach to take his team to the Super Bowl.
"This was a difficult decision," Colts owner Jim Irsay said during a Tuesday news conference. "It was based on the feeling that this was a direction the franchise needed to go. I wanted to make sure we took all the time we needed to make sure it was the right decision."
With the Colts' head-coaching position now open, there could be speculation that the Colts might approach Dungy about a possible return. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora said Tuesday on "Around The League," that there's no reason to believe Dungy could return to the coaching ranks.
"Everything I've heard is he's perfectly happy doing what he's doing," La Canfora said of Dungy, who has been working for NBC's "Football Night in America." "There's really been no smoke there for a couple of years now. He's been pretty equivocal with his stance on this."
Newly hired general manager Ryan Grigson said the Colts will be patient during their search for a new head coach.
"We don't want to do anything rash in any regard with any of this," Grigson said. "These are big decisions, and we don't want to be hurried."
Grigson said that Caldwell was informed Tuesday of the team's decision to move in another direction.
Grigson also confirmed that the Colts met with former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo about a potential defensive-coordinator position. Caldwell was present at the meeting.
Caldwell was the Colts' quarterback coach/assistant head coach from 2002-08.
The team announced it fired Caldwell on Tuesday, the second major decision in what is expected to be a long offseason shake-up. Team owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, the team's general manager, the day after the season ended.
Caldwell led the Colts to a 14-2 regular season and Super Bowl appearance in the 2009 season, his first after being hand-picked by Tony Dungy to take over the team's head-coaching duties. The Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV to the New Orleans Saints. They were upset in the 2010 wild-card round by the New York Jets, following a 10-6 regular season.
Caldwell won his first 14 games, an NFL record for a rookie head coach, and became only the fifth first-year coach to take his team to the Super Bowl.
"This was a difficult decision," Colts owner Jim Irsay said during a Tuesday news conference. "It was based on the feeling that this was a direction the franchise needed to go. I wanted to make sure we took all the time we needed to make sure it was the right decision."
With the Colts' head-coaching position now open, there could be speculation that the Colts might approach Dungy about a possible return. NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora said Tuesday on "Around The League," that there's no reason to believe Dungy could return to the coaching ranks.
"Everything I've heard is he's perfectly happy doing what he's doing," La Canfora said of Dungy, who has been working for NBC's "Football Night in America." "There's really been no smoke there for a couple of years now. He's been pretty equivocal with his stance on this."
Newly hired general manager Ryan Grigson said the Colts will be patient during their search for a new head coach.
"We don't want to do anything rash in any regard with any of this," Grigson said. "These are big decisions, and we don't want to be hurried."
Grigson said that Caldwell was informed Tuesday of the team's decision to move in another direction.
Grigson also confirmed that the Colts met with former St. Louis Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo about a potential defensive-coordinator position. Caldwell was present at the meeting.
Caldwell was the Colts' quarterback coach/assistant head coach from 2002-08.
. No question Peyton is a first ballot Hall of Famer. He carried that team his entire career (and it clearly showed this season).
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