Report: Chuck Pagano’s Halftime Speech Expletive Filled
By Evan Reller
The Indianapolis Colts suffered another bad loss on Sunday and it is clearly taking its toll on the players and coaches. The team was down 20-0 at halftime and coach Chuck Pagano laid into the team in a way he never has before.
ESPN’s Bob Holtzman said that players told him it was unlike anything they had ever heard from the fourth year head coach.
"The Colts were down 20 to nothing at half time and I was told by players that Chuck Pagano’s halftime speech was expletive filled and like nothing they had ever heard from him. One player told me it sounded more like a college or high school locker room at halftime. Pagano, I was told, was calling out individual players at halftime, which was something he’d never done before."
Pagano has always been called a players coach and is loved by his team. There have been rumors that some in the Colts organization want him to coach with more fire and hold people accountable, and after that first half it sounds like he finally broke.
There was also a report that team owner Jim Irsay and GM Ryan Grigson were having a heated discussion following the game. Holtzman’s report also helps confirm that Irsay was there much longer than normal and unhappy.
"I (Holtzman) was in the locker room after the game and the level of concern seemed pretty high, I don’t know how you could think anything else when you see team owner Jim Irsay in a side room talking to general manager Ryan Grigson after the game yesterday. Irsay is in the locker room after every game but it’s rare for him to stay as long as he did. It felt like they had talked for 15 minutes, him and Grigson."
The level of concern is high at every level in the Colts organization and even the longest tenured player is feeling it. More from Holtzman:
"And it wasn’t just that the Colts lost, it was how they lost. It took them 17 minutes to get a first down, it took Andrew Luck 21 minutes to complete a pass. I asked Robert Mathis after the game what the problem is and he said “the problem is we have to figure out what the problem is.” That doesn’t sound good. Mathis has been with the team since 2003 and said he won’t let this fall apart."
The Colts have issues to address, but it might all be in the head of their quarterback. It is certainly sounds there are going to be some changes in the offseason. Right now, the Colts hve to figure out how to right the ship in the midst of the hardest stretch of their schedule.
This week, the Colts head southeast to face the undefeated Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football.