Fansided
Fansided

Indianapolis Colts Can’t Be Afraid To Fire Chuck Pagano

By Erik Lambert

facebooktwitterreddit

Aug 29, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano watches as players warm up prior to a football game against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports

It’s hard to think about this considering how things started for Chuck Pagano as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, overcoming cancer to return to the sidelines.  With “Chuck Strong” still so fresh in the mind, the reality is things must stay focused on the business of football and the reality is Pagano is on the hot seat?

Why would that be?  The guy has gotten the Colts further in the playoffs each year, going from the wild card round to the divisional round to the AFC championship last season.  He does deserve credit for that, but he also can’t escape criticism for how his past two years have ended.

Literally being run over by the New England Patriots.

In 2013 they were hammered 43-22 during which the Patriots piled up 234 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.  A year later it was even worse.  Indianapolis was run out of Foxborough 45-7 as their defense again was trampled by the Patriots ground attack for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

Remember that Pagano was brought in strictly for the purpose of building a strong enough defense to compliment superstar quarterback Andrew Luck and his offense.  To date his units have ranked 26th, 20th and 11th in total yards allowed but have never ranked better than 18th against the run.

Besides that, their lopsided defeats in New England showcase a clear lack of discipline and mental fortitude, two things required in order to beat a Bill Belichick-Tom Brady team.  If Pagano can’t make any progress this year, then it’s safe for the Colts to assume he may not have what it takes to get the team to that level.

It isn’t like this is anything new for Indianapolis.  They’ve made big head coaching changes before when they had a stud quarterback under center.  Don’t forget they replaced Jim Mora in 2002 with Tony Dungy.  This despite Mora making the playoffs two of the previous three seasons.  That decision seemed to work out.

Pagano isn’t dead yet, but there is no doubt a setback this 2015 season could cost him his job.

Next: NFL Team Predictions: The Dallas Cowboys

More from NFL Mocks

Home/NFL News