There’s been a ton of speculation regarding the job status of Indianapolis Colts head coach. His team just finished off its second consecutive 8-8 season, missing out on the playoff each time.
But instead of being fired immediately or hearing owner Jim Irsay support him publicly, Pagano seems to be a lame duck sitting there waiting for news. Maybe a clay pigeon in a Duck Hunt game.
Irsay’ silence on the topic has been a subject of debate over the past few days. Now, it appears that those within the Colts’ organization don’t even know what’s happening here.
“ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported last weekend that Irsay was unhappy about the Colts’ performance this season. This is the first time since the 1997-98 seasons that the franchise has missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons,” ESPN’s Mike Wells noted on Thursday evening. “Even some in the organization consider this abnormal. One person within the franchise described the situation as being “eerily quiet.”
That some within the organizations don’t know what’s happening could lead us to the conclusion that Pagano and general manager Ryan Grigson could be fired here in short order.
Though, there’s a couple issues with this belief.
First off, Irsay himself has gone out of the way multiple times to show support for Pagano and Grigson publicly (more on that here).
Secondly, if the Colts do decide to fire Pagano here shortly, they’ll already be behind the proverbial eight-ball. The teams that have head coaching openings have already started the process, with at least one potentially close to making a decision.
It’s a less-than-ideal situation to catch a case of indecision when it comes to something this important. That’s only magnified by the current state of the coaching carousel around the NFL. Add in the fact that Irsay has had years to think this over, and it makes little sense.
If Irsay is indeed sold on Pagano leading the ship in 2017, wouldn’t he have already come out and said that? At the very least, wouldn’t people within the organization know?