Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
Ron Meeks is no longer with the Indianapolis Colts, and it’s about time. Russ Purnell is gone, too, and that departure was equally overdue.
Now, the Colts must prove the changes they’ve made in the first nine days of the Jim Caldwell administration are more than cosmetic.
Perhaps it’s time to change the entire philosophy of the defense – dare I suggest scrapping the Cover 2 scheme? – or to overhaul the inconsistent personnel.
Let’s at least explore the possibilities out there. That itself would be a change in philosophy.
For all his greatness as a coach, Tony Dungy’s flaw was loyalty to coaches who weren’t getting the job done.
Under Purnell’s watch, the special teams were horrendous for seven years. And, no, Purnell cannot take credit for kicker Adam Vinatieri and punter Hunter Smith, who were among the best in the business before he got them.
Meeks did some good things with the secondary in seven years as defensive coordinator – Bob Sanders, Antoine Bethea and Nick Harper flourished under his watch – but his inability to solve the woes of the run defense dogged the Colts for years. Even during the Super Bowl-winning season of 2006, Indianapolis ranked last against the run.
While Meeks quietly resigned Tuesday, eight days after Dungy retired, there are many who think Caldwell forced the resignation.
It’s somewhat ironic Meeks’ departure comes after he got an interview for the head coaching job with the New York Jets, but that was probably more about complying with the Rooney Rule, which mandates teams give consideration to minority candidates, than Meeks’ success on the field.
So now that Caldwell has proved his willingness to depart from Dungy’s personnel, could he stray from some of the schemes that have been in place for ages, too? Caldwell shouldn’t touch the offense, but the Colts shouldn’t wed themselves to the Cover 2 scheme when there are good candidates out there.
Unfortunately, that appears to be the case, as WISH-TV in Indianapolis reported late last night that Larry Coyer, a former assistant head coach with the Tampa Bay Buccanneers who is familiar with the Cover 2, is going to be the choice.
That would appear to rule out such possibilities as Romeo Crennel, for instance, who won four Super Bowls as a defensive assistant with New England and the New York Giants, and he was recently fired as head coach in Cleveland and Keith Butler, the linebackers coach with Pittsburgh. Both could bring in the 3-4 defensive scheme that has given the Colts’ offense fits through the years.
Mike Waufle, coach of the New York Giants’ outstanding defensive line, is intriguing.
Admittedly, the Colts players have been groomed for the Cover 2scheme, and salary constraints would make overhauls challenging.
The point is, after years of sticking to the same things, the Colts have a chance to do something more creative than promote linebackers coach Mike Murphy and give us more of the same.
Change in Indianapolis could run deep – maybe not deep enough to trade injury-prone Sanders for someone who will contribute every day – but deep enough to make the defense and special teams a little less predictable than they have been for far too long.
