The problem with internet rumors, particularly in the sports world, is that they seem to nearly always come true to some extent. In fact, if you troll around various discussion boards and Twitter feeds for any length of time, it will become fairly obvious that there are inside sources in leagues and organizations across the country that continually pump out little nuggets of information that eventually prove accurate. With that backdrop, perhaps you can understand why the afternoon of Saturday, January 14, took a dark turn for me as a fan of the Indianapolis Colts. A quick glance at some Colts-related Tweets before I sat down to dinner yielded a nasty rumor that stopped my appetite cold in its tracks. To wit, Jake Query of local radio station WNDE reported that head coach Jim Caldwell will be retained for the 2012 season.
Caldwell has been the subject of much speculation since the 2011 season ended on January 1 and especially since Bill and Chris Polian were fired on January 2. While the jury has been out on his fate in Indianapolis, I remained convinced that the Colts would have a new leader within a matter of weeks, emboldened by owner Jim Irsay's apparent desire to clean house and start over. In my mind, new GM Ryan Grigson would fire Caldwell, hire some new blood at coach, cut ties with quarterback Peyton Manning and draft Andrew Luck to guide the team into the future. Now, all of that appears to be in doubt.
Caldwell has been given a lot of rope during his years as head coach of the Colts, partially because of his ties to local legend Tony Dungy, and partially because he has a strong relationship with Manning. With Caldwell back in the fold, it's hard to imagine that Manning is not in the team's plans, as well. While Manning has been as special a player as I have ever seen, he is due a $28 million roster bonus in March, and that's a lot of money to pay for the uncertainty that he brings into 2012. If Manning is, indeed, the QB this season, then Luck is either not in the Colts' plans, or he will be relegated to the bench. Again, the cost to sign him would make Luck an awfully expensive backup.
After a dismal 2011 season, I had a ton of hope that 2012 would be the year that some serious rebuilding would set the Colts up for another long run of success. Now, with Caldwell apparently coming back to guide the team, I'm not sure when we'll see playoff caliber football in Indianapolis again.
Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
No comments:
Post a Comment