Colts coach Chuck Pagano shows frustration after loss
The Indianapolis Colts aren’t the only team who enjoyed postseason success last season but see themselves in an 0-2 hole Tuesday morning – the NFC titlist Seahawks are right there with them – but while Seattle head coach Pete Carroll is still exhibiting his California cool in front of cameras, Colts head coach Chuck Pagano let his frustrations boil over Monday night, after Indianapolis lost 20-7 to the New York Jets.
While rightfully criticizing his quarterback, Andrew Luck, who has five interceptions and a fumble through two games, Pagano also seemingly expressed frustration with general manager Ryan Grigson, who has done little to address the flaws on the Colts’ roster, namely the offensive and defensive lines.
Asked if Luck’s “internal clock” might be sped up because he’s facing pressure so often and often so quickly, Pagano said, “I’d have to sit down [with Luck] and have a conversaiton. I don’t think so. That’s been the case for three years now, has it not? You know, so he should be more than comfortable dealing with what he’s dealing with. We gotta get it fixed.”
Luck has been anointed as the NFL’s next great quarterback, but he can’t do everything. Getting the offensive linemen on the field to play better is the job of position coach Joe Gilbert, and getting better offensive linemen is Grigson’s job.
“You just gotta take care of the football,” Pagano said. “Make great decisions, take care of the football. It’s not that hard. It’s not trigonometry.”
While Pagano was frustrated with Luck, who has completed fewer than 55 percent of his passes in losses to Buffalo and the Jets, the coach had words for almost everyone on offense.
“You can’t do it. Can’t turn the ball over. You gotta protect, you gotta give him time, you gotta give him a clean pocket so he can step up and not get hit when he’s releasing the ball, and we have to get it fixed,” Pagano said. “Can’t drive the length of the field, 10-minute drive, and get to the 1-yard line and put the ball on the ground [as happened when Frank Gore fumbled], make it a 10-7 game. You can’t do it. You’re not going to beat Zionsville [High School] doing that.”
As Pagano noted, the Colts started last season 0-2 and then won five straight, making the playoffs and losing in the AFC title game to New England, and he expressed confidence Indianapolis could turn things around again. But after his comments Monday, it’s clear Pagano has reached a boiling point.
Indianapolis Star Colts beat writer Stephen Holder tweeted this morning:
Just two weeks ago, Holder had a story in which Pagano and Grigson denied problems – but in sports, or Hollywood marriages, a public denial is usually the first sign that a relationship is headed for divorce.
