Chuck Pagano’s Contract Extension is Reportedly for 4 Years
According to CBS NFL Insider Jason La Canfora, Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano‘s new contract extension is apparently for 4 years:
Chuck Pagano has agreed to a 4-year contract as part of the talks with Jim Irsay today. Empowered indeed and well deserved
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 5, 2016
(UPDATE: 10:45 PM EST): The 4-year contract extension has been confirmed by Jim Irsay:
Irsay confirms: 4-year extension for Chuck Pagano. He's the Colts guy moving forward.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) January 5, 2016
In a bizarre turn of events, the Colts decided to give their embattled head coach a contract extension rather than dismiss him, which had been widely anticipated beforehand.
Per La Canfora, owner Jim Irsay was apparently swayed into keeping Pagano by the overwhelming support and outcry he received from his players:
Overwhelming support for Chuck Pagano by Colts players resonated loudly with Irsay. Owner was driven to find a solution keeping HC/GM there
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 5, 2016
Despite enduring a nightmare of a season, Pagano never lost the locker room and still managed to finish 8-8–even having lost star quarterback Andrew Luck for 9 games because of injury.
Simply put, Pagano did exactly what he said he would do and “fought his ass off” to remain the Colts head coach. In the process, he must’ve made a very strong case to Irsay as to why he’s still the right man for the job:
#Colts source: Chuck is a fighter.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 5, 2016
While Pagano has his fair share of coaching critics, no one can debate that he has won a lot of football games while with the Colts–having gone 41-23 (.641) in his 4 seasons with the team and only missing the playoffs this season.
As such, it looks like he’ll be the Colts head coach for the foreseeable future.