How Much Longer Should The Colts Keep Chuck Pagano?

The Colts blew another second-half lead on Sunday losing to the Titans 20-16. How much longer will general manager Chris Ballard and owner Jim Irsay allow Chuck Pagano to roam the Indianapolis sidelines?

The Colts are now 3-8 on the season and have virtually no chance to make the postseason. Indianapolis has lost five of their past six games, including three straight at Lucas Oil Stadium. One more loss would assure coach Chuck Pagano of his first sub-.500 season since becoming the head coach of the Colts.

Pagano has been a successful head coach in NFL, however, he has not led Indianapolis to the playoffs since 2014. With Chris Ballard in his first year as general manager and the Colts sitting in the cellar of the AFC South, Pagano is all but assured not to return in 2018. So the question now becomes, do the Colts cut ties with Pagano before the end of the season?

The easy answer is yes. Send Pagano packing and promote an assistant coach, likely Joe Philbin, to finish out the remainder of the season. Why? Is Joe Philbin the second coming of Tony Dungy? No, Philbin coached the Miami Dolphins from 2012-2015 and was fired after never recording a winning season.

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Philbin has also been unsuccessful as the offensive line coach for Indianapolis. I think every Colts fan would agree that the offensive line has been the most underwhelming position group on the team this season. If you’re going to fire a coach mid-season you had better have a more impressive interim candidate than Joe Philbin.

Let’s not forget that Pagano is coaching this season without his franchise star Andrew Luck, who just so happens to occupy the most important position on the entire team. Everybody within the Colts organization expected Luck to play at some point this season, and the results on the field would look mighty different with Luck under center. Go ask the Green Bay Packers how things are going without Aaron Rodgers.

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Pagano will likely not return to coach the Colts next season, but it’s doubtful that many other head coaches would have had much success with the current roster and the injuries this team has incurred this season. Expect Pagano to be the coach for the remaining five games, but the Colts’ brass will certainly be shopping for a new head coach for 2018.

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