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Regardless of the team’s end result this season, it’s a foregone conclusion that Chuck Pagano will be gone as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Owner Jim Irsay will surely look to hire a big name to be the next Colts’ head coach, with Sean Payton a possible candidate. In an appearance on Mad Dog Sports Radio, longtime Indianapolis area journalist Bob Kravitz offered Alabama coach Nick Saban as a top target for Irsay if/when Pagano is let go.
Saban is of course a highly accomplished college coach, but his previous tenure as a NFL head coach did not go well. The Miami Dolphins went just 15-17 in Saban’s two seasons as coach (2005 and 2006), as a free agent decision between two quarterbacks that were coming off injuries (Drew Brees and Daunte Culpepper) during the offseason in between those two seasons derailed his tenure. Brees of course went to the New Orleans Saints, while Culpepper landed in Miami and made just four starts during the 2006 season. Saban himself said he might still be coaching the Dolphins if he’d been allowed to sign Brees.
If Saban wants to try the NFL again, and I assume his ego will dictate exactly that at some point, a team with a good quarterback situation could (and should) appeal to him. Despite his struggles and injuries this year, Andrew Luck gives Indianapolis an enviable situation under center. Of course there is the small matter of a long-term contract for Luck, but it seems like a foregone conclusion he will be a Colt indefinitely into the future.
I think Payton should be Irsay’s top target as the Colts’ next head coach, with a solid track record of success and his work with Brees as marks in his corner. But Payton is sure to get interest from any team with an opening, assuming the Saints allow him to leave. So if Irsay wants to hire a big name coach, and there is mutual interest, he may have to cross his fingers, give Saban full control over personnel and hope for the best.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
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