Chuck Pagano, who served as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 - 2017, has come out of retirement to take a job with the Baltimore Ravens.
Pagano took over for the Colts not long after Indianapolis legend Peyton Manning left the team, and led them to the playoffs three years in a row. But by 2015, the Colts began to struggle; they finished 8-8 in back-to-back years, and by 2017, had a losing season. After failing to make the playoffs for three years in a row, Pagano was fired.
His final record was 53-43 over six years, and though Pagano struggled, the Colts never quite regained their footing after losing both Pagano and quarterback Andrew Luck.
After leaving Indianapolis, Pagano served as a consultant for one year, and then had a stint in Chicago as defensive coordinator before retiring in 2021. He's been working as a pundit and analyst since then, but said when he retired that he was ready to spend more time with his family.
Until now.
Pagano has been announced as the new senior secondary coach with the Baltimore Ravens, where he will be working under John Harbaugh. "It is exciting to add Coach Chuck Pagano to our defensive staff and continue to develop and grow our young and talented secondary," Harbaugh said in a statement. "Chuck brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and coaching talent to our team. He has deep ties to the program and is excited to get to work."
Harbaugh and Pagano worked together before, when Harbaugh was originally hired to coach the Ravens in 2008. Pagano served as Harbaugh's defensive coordinator, and his defense excelled. The current Ravens defense, however, has struggled, despite having a decent amount of talent on its roster. The defense improved in the second half of 2024, when Harbaugh brought Dean Pees on board as a consultant; the hope is clearly that Pagano's expertise will further improve the Ravens defense.