The Indianapolis Colts have fired head coach Chuck Pagano after a six-season stint at the helm of the team.
This marks the end of a coaching tenure in Indianapolis that played out in two halves. The first three seasons of Pagano’s time with the Colts (2012-2014) saw him lead the club to three consecutive 11-5 seasons, two AFC South division titles and a berth in the AFC Championship Game in 2014.
However, in 2015 the club’s fortunes took a downturn with star quarterback Andrew Luck’s injury problems rearing their ugly head. That season, Luck played only six games that season resulting in an 8-8 record and the Colts missing the playoffs. The season after would be an exact replica as 2015, record-wise, with the post-season once again eluding Pagano and the Colts. At the end of that 2016 season Luck underwent shoulder surgery in his throwing arm, an injury that had been lingering from 2015.
In 2017 the wheels really fell off the Colts as Pagano was only able to lead an injury-plagued Colts team to a measly 4-12 record as Luck was unable to get into any games, still recovering from off-season surgery.
The fact Pagano’s being dismissed isn’t surprising. That he lasted the entire season is, though. In the midst of the 2016 NFL Playoffs, Indianapolis hired GM Chris Ballard to replace the fired Ryan Grigson. Ballard began making an immediate overhaul to the Colts’ personnel and it was curious that he opted to stick with Pagano for another season.
Pagano was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in 2012, his first season with Indianapolis. In September 2012 he took an indefinite leave of absence from the club and returned to the sidelines on Dec. 24 that year after it was announced his cancer was in remission. Pagano’s battle with cancer led the team to begin a movement called “CHUCKSTRONG.”
The 57-year-old was the 10th coach in team history since the Colts moved to Indiana in 1984. Pagano’s 53 wins and .552 winning percentage ranks him second in both categories in Indianapolis history.
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