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Topic subjectanother black coach fired (jim caldwell)
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=1898442&mesg_id=1898442
1898442, another black coach fired (jim caldwell)
Posted by s_dot_miles, Tue Jan-17-12 02:49 PM
per espn

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7471905/indianapolis-colts-fire-jim-caldwell-nfl-worst-2-14-season

The Indianapolis Colts fired coach Jim Caldwell on Tuesday, the team announced.

The Colts hired Ryan Grigson as their new general manager last week and said they would have a decision on Caldwell's future by the middle of this week. The team has called a 4 p.m. ET news conference.

It's the second big move since the Colts' miserable 2-14 season ended. The day after the season ended, owner Jim Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian and Polian's son, Chris, Indy's general manager.

Caldwell opened his career by winning his first 14 games, the most in NFL history by a rookie head coach, and leading Indianapolis to the Super Bowl. He won an AFC South title in his second season.

Caldwell, hired in 2009, had a 26-22 record as the Colts' coach. His teams were 2-2 in the postseason. He was one of 11 coaches hired after the 2009 season and becomes the latest to get fired. The only two coaches still in their jobs from the Class of 2009 are the New York Jets' Rex Ryan and the Detroit Lions' Jim Schwartz.

Franchise quarterback Peyton Manning missed the entire season after having his latest neck surgery Sept. 8 -- a procedure that has clouded his future with the franchise. Without him, the Colts unraveled, finishing 2-14 and missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade, but they're in line to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick in April.

Owner Jim Irsay and Grigson must decide whether to pay four-time league MVP Manning a $28 million bonus in March, allow him to walk away as a free agent or redo the five-year, $90 million contract to make it more salary-cap friendly.

Though Manning has started throwing with teammates and players believe Manning is improving, Irsay must determine whether it's worth taking a significant cap hit to rebuild around a 35-year-old quarterback who has had neck surgery three times in less than 24 months. If he is healthy, a big if, Irsay has promised to bring back Manning and make another Super Bowl run.

Manning had good reasons to want Caldwell back. Aside from the franchise quarterback, Caldwell and offensive coordinator Clyde Christensen understand the Colts' offense better than anyone, and Caldwell helped Manning achieve his greatest successes. Before Caldwell became quarterbacks coach in 2002, Manning was an elite player with a losing record in the playoffs. With Caldwell, Manning won all four of his MVP awards, two AFC crowns and his only Super Bowl ring.