so obviously you all know that Indianapolis Colts’ head coach Jim Caldwell was fired yesterday. i’m sure there’s like 50% of you that either aren’t surprised at all or are happy…or both. I just might fall into that category… I mean, you have to give Caldwell a little credit for taking his team to the Super Bowl (which they lost to the New Orleans Saints) in just his first year as a head coach. His second season he led his team to the playoffs yet again (where they lost to the New York Jets), and it was only this season where he fell off the ledge a bit. i’m sure you’re well aware of the Colts finishing with the worst record in the NFL this past season (leaving them with the first pick of the 2012 draft)
now, my personal opinion is that the whole Colts’ staff should have been preparing for something like what happened this season with Peyton Manning being injured and unable to play for the whole season. if you’re going to build an entire dynasty around one player, you should have a little bit better of a backup plan. Obviously Manning is getting older for football years, and i think a plan should have been in place to prevent such a disastrous season from occuring. i also believe that even Peyton didn’t realize that his injury would be so detrimental until after his final surgery, but even after his first couple surgeries, you would think that the coaching staff would begin to plan something just in case he wasn’t able to come back. Yes they had Curtis Painter in the wings, but showing by his performance record on the field, it doesn’t seem that he had enough practice with the starting receivers…or is that just me?
anyway, i think all of this firing (both the Polians, Caldwell, and weirdly enough Caldwell fired the special teams coordinator before he was fired) could mean some more to the team as a whole. If Peyton Manning is working on coming back to play, how is he going to feel playing without Bill Polian, Jim Caldwell, and Tom Moore (his former offensive coordinator). If he comes back, he’ll be (most likely) mentoring rookie quarterback Andrew Luck as he tries to prepare Luck for life as a starting quarterback in the NFL while trying to adjust to a completely new coaching and management staff behind him. I think all of this change might add to Manning’s decision about next season. But that’s just my opinion. Unfortunately, i think that if Manning leaves, a handful of other veteran players will use it as an opportunity for them to retire too. They don’t want to be playing with a completely different quarterback, GM, head coach, and possibly other new coaches when they’re getting high into their football ages, too. Lots of these players have been facing injuries for the past couple of seasons as well. For example, Ryan Diem is a free agent in 2012, so I can see him retiring since he’s been playing since 2001.
Another problem that arises is having enough money to pay all of our star players. Paying for Peyton Manning (the highest paid player in the NFL as of last season), the first pick of the draft, and our veteran receivers could be difficult. Reggie Wayne is a free agent in 2012 as well, raising the question of will he stay in Indianapolis or will he go somewhere that might pay him more?
All of these things are just my opinions so i’m not quoting anyone or anything, just my thoughts. I don’t feel like getting into the playoff games for this huge weekend, I’ll post about those on Friday or Saturday!
