The Indianapolis Colts have fired former head coach Chuck Pagano after an awful 2017 NFL campaign. Here are five coaching candidates that could replace him.
It was only a matter of time, but impulsive Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay finally did it. On Black Monday, the Colts organization has decided to part ways with its head football coach of the last six years in Chuck Pagano. After reaching the AFC playoffs in his first three seasons in Indianapolis, the last three seasons have gotten progressively worse for the Colts.
Sure, a lot of this has to do with the Colts having a terribly constructed roster by former general manager Ryan Grigson. Current general manager Chris Ballard has to move mountains to get this once-proud AFC franchise out of the AFC South cellar. That being said, it’s not like Pagano isn’t to blame for the Colts’ bad play of late.
Indianapolis hired him after only being a defensive coordinator for one year with the 2011 Baltimore Ravens. Usually, that position is a head coaching factory, as so many defensive coordinators in Baltimore have gone on to have success as head coaches, including Marvin Lewis and Rex Ryan.
However, the Colts defense was never good under Pagano’s watch. The Colts made the playoffs during Pagano’s first year with the team with Bruce Arians as the interim head coach in 2012. Pagano was battling with leukemia for most of that season. Indianapolis made it to the 2014 AFC Championship, but that was mostly on the back of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck.
Overall, Pagano’s tenure in Indianapolis was as long as it was underwhelming. While the Colts thought they had hired the next Tony Dungy, they got a lesser version of Jim Caldwell if we’re being totally honest. With Luck at quarterback and Ballard building this team, Indianapolis stands the chance at getting a good replacement for Pagano in 2018. Here are five coaches that could be in line to get that Colts job.
This would be a great hire, but not a likely one to happen. The NFL would welcome back Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw with open arms. Shaw had worked in the NFL from 1997 to 2005 with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Oakland Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens before teaming up with Jim Harbaugh with the San Diego Toreros.
Shaw would follow Harbaugh to Palo Alto in 2007, where he was offensive coordinator from 2007 to 2010. Once Harbaugh went to go coach the San Francisco 49ers, Shaw took over his alma mater’s football program. Stanford has gone 73-22 since Shaw become the Cardinal’s head coach in 2011.
He has led the Cardinal to three Pac-12 championships and is a four-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Though he may never win a national title at an academic powerhouse like Stanford, it would take the perfect situation to get Shaw to leave Palo Alto. Perhaps getting to work with Luck again in Indianapolis could do the trick?
Shaw would be reunited with this former star quarterback in Indianapolis. It’s not like the AFC South is dominated by one team annually anyway. If Shaw is willing to leave a dream coaching gig at Stanford for the Colts, that means working with Luck again would be the main reason for it.
He’ll get a statue outside of Stanford Stadium if he keeps winning nine games a year. Are we sure Shaw will want to deal with the Irsays regularly? Odds are that he stays put in Stanford, but he’ll hear out the Colts’ plea for him to join their cause.