With Black Monday just days away, there are sure to be more NFL head coaches who will lose their jobs after the regular season ends. Will Chuck Pagano be one of them?
There has been speculation for months that the Indianapolis Colts will move on from Pagano this offseason. There were even reports that Pagano could lose his job in the middle of the season, but the team has decided to stick with him for 2015. And if for some reason the Colts decide they want to bring Pagano back, the 55-year-old might decline the offer.
Bob Kravitz of WTHR.com believes that Pagano would not return in 2016 even if the Colts wanted him to.
The more I'm now learning about the situation with the Colts, I'm not convinced Pagano would return even if the Colts wanted him back.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) December 30, 2015
Still gathering info and will write later this week, but it's a very bad situation over there. https://t.co/PLJ9NTbyH6
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) December 30, 2015
It’s worth noting that Pagano turned down the opportunity to sign a one-year extension before the season began. After an 0-2 start to the year, Pagano already was having doubts about whether he’d be back for 2016.
The situation became a bit complicated when Andrew Luck suffered a lacerated kidney. Luck has missed the last six games and probably won’t play again this year. Yet, the Colts still have an outside — a very outside — chance of making the playoffs in their terrible division. If Indy was hoping to justify firing Pagano based on results, that will be tough to do when he lost his Pro Bowl quarterback for a good portion of the season.
Ultimately, the decision boils down to what Jim Irsay and the Colts ownership group wants to do with GM Ryan Grigson. The relationship between Grigson and Pagano is said to be not good at all. But if the Colts want to bring in a big name head coach like this, said big name might want control over personnel.
Where Grigson fits into the team’s future plans remains to be seen. But, at this point, it would be a surprise if Pagano coaches another game in Indy beyond this Sunday.
