He was true to his word Monday, winning over owner Jim Irsay and agreeing to a late-night extension that will bring him back for a fifth season with the franchise.
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Colts head coach Chuck Pagano’s future with the team has been the focus of intense speculation, with most observers, including WTHR’s Bob Kravitz, holding the belief that Pagano coached his last game for Indianapolis on Sunday.
“I’m happy to announce that we are moving forward with Chuck as our coach”, Irsay said in a news conference Monday.
“Waking up this morning, I’m always hopeful for continuity”, Irsay said Monday night, via The Indy Star. “I know that he has a vision for this team and whatever it is we will be there to try and get it done”. “I’m convinced we have the right people”.
The Colts owner said that Grigson’s future would be “contractually tied” to Pagano and both men are now signed through 2019.
“My goal was to go and play well enough to win, try to play turnover free”, Freeman said. “This is absolutely the best day of my life and I’m grateful and I’m thankful to Mr. Irsay and his family for the opportunity that he’s given me”. Pagano can easily get better just by changing his philosophy to modern day football and being more aggressive. I thought he should be if they fired Pagano, but if they didn’t fire Pagano there’s no way Irsay was firing Grigson.
“What we went through this year and that adversity, I believe from Andrew Luck to myself to coach Pagano, that adversity is what’s going to springboard us to greatness because that’s life. Ryan’s not that kind of guy”. I think I speak for America when I say… No more Grigson having more years on his contract and no more of Pagano wondering his coaching fate. Because we’ve been through a lot together, and we have a special relationship. In the first four years of the Pagano/Grigson era, the Colts are 44-26 overall with three playoff appearances, including a trip to the AFC Championship game in January.
Irsay: “If you think I’m going to let someone bully my head coach you’re wrong”. In their regular-season finale, a 30-24 win over the hapless Titans, the Colts started Josh Freeman off the street.
Grigson: “Chuck Pagano is a great man. I don’t have to sit here and tell you guys that”. “We worked to resolve anything to make the best decision for the franchise”.
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If so, then it could have outweighed it earlier this season, when Pagano was hung out to dry all year, had to answer questions about his job for half the season (at least that inspired the great line, “They can’t eat you”) and had to suffer through the reports that he was certainly gone. Pagano gave a speech after the win that even seemed to inspire Irsay. Just listen to this locker room speech after Sunday’s final game-a speech attended by both Irsay and Grigson, and keep an eye on their reactions-and you will love him too. It was a trying year for us.
