Colts

Offense

Random stats, but it highlights the problems the Colts may face this season, especially on defense.

Grigson, an Indiana native who starred at Purdue before being drafted by the Bengals in 1995, had emerged as the front-runner among seven candidates for the job. Highly regarded in the scouting community, Grigson was the runner-up to Howie Roseman for the Eagles GM job in 2010. Owner Jim Irsay has said that he will make the call on Peyton Manning’s future, so the 39-year-old Grigson will be off the hook on that franchise-defining decision.

Irsay wanted to have a decision finalized by mid-week, and it appears that Grigson has emerged as the favorite to succeed Bill and Chris Polian in the Colts’ front office.

Citing several sources close to the situation, La Canfora reports that Caldwell will “unequivocally” be fired if Colts don’t win one of their final three games. “If they don’t win a football game,” La Canfora said Wednesday, “they will be firing the head coach.” Indianapolis’ last three games are against the Titans (7-6), Texans (10-3), and Jaguars (4-9). Many of the Colts’ veterans seemed to pack it in months ago, so the smart money is on Indianapolis finishing winless.

It sounds like Irsay will leave the Colts’ coaching decision up to his next general manager. Irsay anticipates the front-office search lasting “multiple weeks,” so Caldwell’s job status may be in limbo all throughout that time. In all likelihood, Caldwell has spent his last game on the Colts’ sideline. There’s next to no chance that a new GM would want Caldwell or his staff back.

Jim Caldwell and his staff will likely also be moving on once owner Jim Irsay decides on new management. The Polians had lived off Peyton Manning for several years in Indianapolis, failing to upgrade a collapsing, aging offensive line and providing Manning with zero running game threat. The wheels fell off quickly when Manning got injured because the Colts had no way to generate ball movement on offense and their defense has always stunk. The Polians also completely whiffed on at least two of their last three first-round picks (Anthony Gonzalez, Jerry Hughes) entering 2011, and the other (Donald Brown) is a backup-caliber running back. It’s time to start over.

Chappell admits it’s “just a feeling I have,” but retaining Caldwell would seem to align with the Colts’ public stance that they will pay Peyton Manning’s $28 million option bonus and stay the course. The idea would be to maintain some semblance of continuity while at least making one more playoff run. Caldwell is 26-22 in 48 regular-season games as Colts head coach. It was widely expected that Indianapolis would move on after appointing Ryan Grigson as GM, but owner Jim Irsay has apparently convinced Grigson that keeping Caldwell (and Manning) would be in the organization’s best interest.

It’s a bit of a surprise in that the Indianapolis Star and a prominent Colts blog had both grown confident that Caldwell would be retained. Despite an offensive background, Caldwell’s unit finished 30th in the NFL at just 286.8 yards per game without Peyton Manning this season. His game management skills have also left a lot to be desired. Caldwell’s firing is yet another sign that the Colts are entering a full-blown rebuilding process. Learning a new offense is one of several factors that could push Manning and the Colts to cut ties.

Christensen was believed to be on the Bears’ radar as passing game coordinator/QBs coach to complement Mike Tice. With Bruce Arians now running the show, Christensen will likely surrender play-calling duties in Indy.

DeCosta is Ozzie Newsome’s successor in Baltimore, and the Indianapolis GM job is not very appealing because of the looming decision on Peyton Manning. We’d be shocked if DeCosta left for the Colts. Indy is also considering promoting in-house option Tom Telesco, currently the team’s director of player personnel. Per NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora, Colts owner Jim Irsay is planning to “cut a wide swath of interviews” as he attempts to replace the Polians.