Firing of Coach Jim Caldwell: Future bears witness to credibility of the Colts decision – NFL feature part-1
Was the decision of the release of Jim Caldwell from his coaching duties at the Indianapolis Colts right? The days to come will confirm if it was.
The team owner, Jim Irsay, himself is not hundred per cent about it. Equally doubtful is his new general manger, Ryan Grigson.
Both officials were well into consultation before making their choice of parting ways with their former coach. It was a close call.
The Colts may well be able to justify the sacking of their vice chairman, Bill Polian, for a number of reasons. Their future bears witness if they could ever be able to prove credibility of the release of their coach.
Polian’s case is altogether different. First, the former VC was outspoken about the issue of their quarterback (QB), Peyton Manning.
Peyton is likely this season; he is unlikely, was his frequently expressed opinion and at the centre of Polian’s remarks about the QB throughout the 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season.
He had also hit the issue of new draft pick next season too often. The chairman was leading on both possibilities: the Colts will recruit the top draft prize and they are unlikely to do so if Peyton returns.
At the same time, he contradicted his own views to claim the team can afford to have both QBs on their pay roster at the same time.
Unfortunate for the vice chairman, his comments were neither confirmed nor denied by his employer Irsay.
So at the end it became a matter of credibility and significance of his statements. His future at the Colts was seen very much on the line there and then.
Second, Bill Polian, himself did not have much to say against his sacking. He admitted it was his failure to find and groom a replacement of the QB Manning that cost the Colts the entire 2011 season.
He had foreseen that his departure was very much in the making. He was probably well prepared for the decision.
After all, no one could have depended on one man as much as Polian did on Peyton Manning. He went on and on with his hopes for Manning’s possible return any time in the season.
The QB was out with a neck surgery. It was his third in 19 months. There was no word on his chances and timeline of his recovery from his doctors.
It could have been obvious to any manager that relying so much on a single person in absence of any substantial evidence on his health could be far more risky.
At the end, Polian admitted it was the reason that cost him the job.
It was for the first time that Manning was not at the starting position for his team. Coincidentally, it was the only season that his side could not pull off a victory for first 13 consecutive games.
There was no hope for them, at one point, to earn such a possibility as to win a game in the entire season. Somehow, they managed one each in their 14th and 15th game, respectively.
These were the only moments of the season to celebrate. It was too late then for a number of members of the outfit.
The employer, Irsay, hinted at launching of a comprehensive reshuffling and rebuilding straight after the end of the season.
He started, what he calls, the business of rebuilding with firing of the vice chairman. He accepted the decision.
It may be unfortunate for his son Chris Polian, the general manager at the Colts, to lose job on the same day his father did.
He could have become a victim of the Irsay’s approach: like father like son.
Some commentators called the decision inevitable. Many believe he should have been given a chance. His sacking should not have co-related closely to his father’s performance.
They could be true to their claims given that it was Chris’s first year at the Colts that he has been actively involved in the decision making. He did not have much say in the team’s management affairs in earlier three year of his stay at the team.
So, he has not been given a real chance to prove himself. It could also be due to the fact that he had some sort of influence from his father’s presence that he could not go for a free and independent decision making.
In any case, he alone could have not been able to make decision on any of the team’s affairs. This included the issue of Peyton Manning.
Also, both the officials were in regular consultation with their employer. They could not have resisted any of his decisions.
If the team wanted to replace Manning at any point of time during the season they could have done so without any problem.
This is truer due to the fact that Irsay had been very clear in his statements on the Manning issue.
He is the only person to be so sure about the impossibility of Manning’s return during the season.
He in his one of comments hinted at replacement of Manning. It was probably the player’s contract that restricted him to say anything further.
He had said that if such a possibility rises it will be in April this year (2012).
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