Colts Hire Baltimore's Pagano as New Head Coach
Written by Bob Whalon, Wednesday January 25 2012
First the Indianapolis Colts stole a football team from the city of Baltimore, now their stealing their defensive coordinator. Well maybe not stealing, but the Colts hired Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as their new head coach on Wednesday.
"I like it," Colts defensive end Robert Mathis wrote on Twitter.
Considering that most experts expected the Colts to hire an offensive coach to replace the recently fired Jim Caldwell, Mathis should like it. This will be the third defensive-minded coach that Colts owner Jim Irsay has hired since replacing his father as team owner in 1997, first hiring Jim Mora and then Tony Dungy.
Most observers predicted an offensive-minded coach would be the choice in Indy because the Colts are expected to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the top pick in the upcoming draft.
Left unsaid is whether or not Irsay and the Colts will pay the $28 million bonus on March 8 to current quarterback and future Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning. Manning, 36, is recovering from his third neck surgery in the last 19 months and would become a free agent if the Colts decline to pay the bonus.
Pagano began his coaching career in 1984 as a graduate assistant at USC, before coaching at Boise State, UNLV, East Carolina and Miami before joining the Cleveland Browns as a secondary coach. In 2005-06 he was the defensive backs coach in Oakland, then was the defensive coordinator at North Carolina before joining the Ravens four years ago when John Harbaugh was named head coach.
Pagano spent three years as the secondary coach in Baltimore before becoming the defensive coordinator this season. The Ravens ranked third in total defense and allowed the third fewest points in the NFL last season.
"Chuck has leadership qualities about him. He's humble but he also knows when to take the reins and take charge," Ravens linebacker Paul Kruger said. "He doesn't try to dominate you in every meeting. He's just a coach that knows exactly how players are and what direction they need."
Pagano's hiring ends a whirlwind January for the Colts. On Jan. 2 Irsay fired front office executives Bill and Chris Polian. A week later he hired Ryan Grigson away from the Philadelphia Eagles to be the new general manager. And last week, he fired Caldwell.
First Irsay cleaned house and now he may be looking to rebuild the house with a new franchise quarterback and a new coach.
Tags: Andrew Luck, Baltimore Ravens, Boise STate, Chuck Pagano, East Carolina, Indianapolis Colts, Jim Caldwell, Jim Mora, Maimi, NFL, NFL Draft, North C, Peyton Manning, Philadelphia Eagles, Robert Mathis, Ryan Grigson, Stanford, Tony Dungy, Twitter, UNLV, USC
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