The person selected by owner Jim Irsay to help direct his Indianapolis Colts into the future undoubtedly will be hungry to expand his career.
Good thing. The new general manager will have plenty on his plate.
There's determining the fate of coach Jim Caldwell and his staff; dealing with whether to invest a $28 million option bonus by March 8 in rehabilitating quarterback Peyton Manning, although that decision likely will be Irsay's alone; and ramping up preparations for the April draft, in which the Colts hold the first pick in all seven rounds.
Then there's the gargantuan task of massaging a roster that is showing its age. Its deficiencies were exposed during a recently concluded 2-14 season.
Welcome aboard, Mr. GM.
Irsay recently revealed on his Twitter account that seven possible successors to vice chairman Bill Polian and vice president/general manager Chris Polian, both of whom were fired Jan. 2, were to have been interviewed by Monday evening. Irsay was not available for comment Tuesday.
It is believed his list of candidates includes Colts director of player personnel Tom Telesco; Jim Popp, general manager of the CFL's Montreal Alouettes; Atlanta Falcons director of player personnel Les Snead and Falcons director of college scouting David Caldwell; Dallas Cowboys director of scouting Tom Ciskowski; New York Giants director of college scouting Marc Ross; and Philadelphia Eagles director of player personnel Ryan Grigson.
According to ESPN.com, Grigson was brought in for a second interview Tuesday.
In his far-reaching Jan. 2 news conference, Irsay emphasized "it's an important time for the franchise to assert its direction and be on the same page. And I think we have some serious (salary) cap issues -- there's no question about that -- that need to be dealt with.
"I'm not going to limit our resources in terms of getting our franchise back to greatness."
However, there likely is a limit to what Irsay and his general manager will be able to do, at least initially, in revamping the roster.
The 2012 salary cap is expected to be only marginally higher than last season's $120 million ceiling. Including Manning, the Colts have 50 players under contract for next season or signed to a "future" contract. They have less than $10 million in projected cap space.
Irsay insisted the Colts are in the midst of an "exciting time" and a "rebuilding stage" as they transition from past successes to an uncertain future.
"The decisions that are coming up," he added, "are crucial."
The uncertainty of Manning's health, and his future with the team, dwarf all others involving personnel. Irsay already has paid Manning more than $170 million the past 14 years. It's hard to imagine him investing further -- the $28 million bonus plus a 2012 base salary of $7.4 million -- unless he's certain Manning will be back to form for the start of next season.
From a cap standpoint, carrying Manning and Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the presumptive first overall pick in the draft, is doable. They would count approximately $21 million against the cap.
But to adequately upgrade personnel, if Irsay is convinced Luck is the future, it makes more fiscal sense to give Manning an appropriate, emotional sendoff, then move on. Allowing the NFL's only four-time MVP to become an unrestricted free agent March 13 would create $6.6 million in cap space.
The next domino could be seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney. He is entering the final year of his contract and will count $19 million against the cap. The Colts could terminate his contract and free up $14 million, but that would rob the No. 25-ranked defense of one of its few difference-makers. Robert Mathis, Freeney's pass-rushing complement, becomes a free agent March 13.
A more likely scenario is the Colts offering Freeney an extension that would significantly lower his 2012 cap hit.
The Colts can create modest cap space by terminating the contracts of tight end Dallas Clark, running back Joseph Addai, safety Melvin Bullitt, linebacker Gary Brackett and place-kicker Adam Vinatieri, but any of those moves would create new holes to fill.
Ten starters in the season finale at Jacksonville become free agents March 13. That includes Mathis, wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon, center Jeff Saturday and guards Ryan Diem and Mike Pollak.
It will be difficult to re-sign many, and there are no in-house successors for Wayne, Mathis or Saturday. It also might be impossible to delve into veteran free agency for a quick fix considering the cap restraints.
Finally, there's the age factor. Of the 19 players in line for free agency, seven are at least 30. Of the 50 players under contract, six are at least 31.
"There are decisions to be made on a number of people, including myself," Manning said after the loss at Jacksonville. "I am very aware of that. I heard Saturday saying you can control what you can control, so I'm going to continue to rehab, try to get healthy. We'll just see how everything shakes out."
Good luck Mr. GM.
Call Star reporter Mike Chappell at (317) 444-6830.
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