Colts fire Pep Hamilton

Amid growing speculation that something had to happen in reaction to a season on the brink, the Indianapolis Colts fired offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton Tuesday. “Because of this, we made a decision to go in a different direction and relieve Pep Hamilton of his duties as offensive coordinator”.

“(3-5) is not where we want to be, but it is not the end of the world”, head coach Chuck Pagano said, per the team’s official website. “We thank Pep for his service to the team and wish him all the best”, stated Chuck Pagano.

Hamilton will be replaced by former Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski, who arrived in Indianapolis after being fired by Cleveland in 2013. Both Luck and Colts head coach Chuck Pagano didn’t address the matter following Monday night’s loss to the Panthers.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): On November 4, 2007, in a 24-20 comeback victory over the Colts in Indianapolis – a game that featured two undefeated teams – Tom Brady threw three touchdowns passes for the ninth consecutive game, an National Football League record (breaking a tie with Peyton Manning).

Indianapolis Colts’ Andrew Luck (12) runs as Carolina Panthers’…

Luck’s reported injury was never listed on the injury report. Grigson carries himself like the smartest guy in the room – “he thinks he invented football”, one veteran player told me this week – but doesn’t know what he doesn’t know.

Perhaps a tad euphoric over the Colts” collection of weapons in the offseason, Pep Hamilton stepped out of his normally conservative public persona and suggested the team’s offense this year would be “the greatest “shoe on turf”. This is simply not anywhere near what the Colts were expecting when the season started.

Prior to coaching with the Colts, Hamilton had been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Stanford. “We’re talking about third down; we’re talking about red zone, two-minute, four-minute because those things are the things that games come down to”. “They kept us in it. They gave us a chance to win”. He forced Pagano to open this season with an offensive line featuring two bad guards (Herremans, Lance Louis) at guard and an excellent guard (Mewhort) at tackle. He is going to need to figure out how to protect Andrew Luck more.

Also still lingering is the generally uninspired play of the 29th-ranked Colts defense at times, making those slow starts even worse, which has to make you wonder if head coach Pagano is still on the hot seat, even despite the coordinator move.