As it turns out, the notorious fake punt called by Chuck Pagano may have inadvertently helped him in the eyes of the Colts.
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said on NFL Network’s NFL Gameday that Pagano’s handling of the aftermath of Sunday night’s fake punt gave Colts brass some renewed hope that Pagano is the right coach to guide the team.
“It was a disaster, it was embarrassing, obviously,” Rapoport told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen. “But this organization really liked how Pagano handled it in the aftermath. That gave them a little more confidence in him that he can deal with some of these really critical situations. There is some optimism as we head toward the end of the season for the Colts.”
If for some reason you have not seen the infamous play, you can watch it here.
Rapoport says that the Colts intend to give Pagano the rest of the season to prove himself.
“This is about wins and losses, and they want to give Pagano every opportunity to prove that he is the coach they thought he was when they did hire him,” Rapoport reported.
It’s odd that such a disaster could help redeem Pagano at all in the eyes of the organization, but it seems that’s exactly what’s happened. To his credit, he did take responsibility for the debacle during the week. That said, the guy who botched the play wasn’t even a part of it during practice. The Colts would undoubtedly prefer it if such things didn’t happen at all on Pagano’s watch.
