According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano won’t be tinkering with his coaching staff anytime soon should the team continue to struggle.
That is, because even if he wanted to, Pagano reportedly doesn’t have the power to actually do so:
"“Should problems persist, however, any shuffling of the coaching staff would have to come from above Pagano,” writes La Canfora. “Sources said Pagano does not have the autonomy to hire or fire staff if he sees fit — not that he would consider any such drastic actions so early in the season.”"
This report only further cements that Pagano is truly a lame duck coach without much power to do anything within the organization except coach.
To his credit, he’s taken on a greater role in coaching the defense this season, and the unit has actually played pretty well given all the injuries and inexperience along the defensive line:
"“Coach Chuck Pagano has been even more hands-on with the defense, his specialty, coming into the season, sources said,” adds La Canfora. “And much has been made of the chronic turnovers, the inability to stick with the run game and the perpetual issues with pass protection on the other side of the ball.”"
Still, Pagano’s teams continue to struggle against teams outside the AFC South. Updating a stat from the Indy Star’s Zak Keefer, the Colts are now 17-1 against teams in the AFC South and 19-18 against everyone else under Pagano.
Some of that falls on the personnel that Pagano has been assigned to coach, as the offensive line continues to be a major issue for the team. Andrew Luck‘s early season struggles certainly haven’t helped matters either.
However, Pagano’s teams routinely tend to fall behind early and even get blown out by better NFL competition. That falls in-line with being outcoached or at the very least, not being prepared enough to play at the game’s onset.
While Sunday’s game against Tennessee likely isn’t a “must-win” for Pagano, a loss would very much place him further on the hot seat where the following week’s home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars certainly could be.
Next: Colts at Titans: Week 3 Where to Watch
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