The Indianapolis Colts need nine things to happen, laid out here, to make the NFL playoffs. Colts head coach Chuck Pagano needs all nine of those things to happen if he plans on remaining employed with the franchise beyond this season, according to ESPN's sources.
Per the Worldwide Leader, Pagano's Colts need to beat the Tennessee Titans, a difficult ask with Josh Freeman, Ryan Lindley and Stephen Morris the only options at quarterback, and have a whole host of other things fall their way this weekend if owner Jim Irsay is to keep Pagano around.
Unfortunately, those odds seem insurmountable.
As for Colts GM Ryan Grigson, the man with whom Pagano has repeatedly butted heads, to the extent that the two top Indianapolis football minds are said to have "toxic" relationship, he'll help with the coaching search, but will only return if the new hire has an interest in working with him.
In short, the front office unrest that was permeating the Colts building throughout the offseason seems to have done just what everyone expected it to - torpedo the Colts season. And as a result, the two men at the center of it, Pagano and Grigson, are likely to be headed for the unemployment line.
Despite starting out the year with Super Bowl aspirations, poor play from quarterback Andrew Luck combined with a bevy of questionable personnel decisions left the Colts in a vulnerable and ultimately unstable position. That they remain alive for the playoffs at this point says so much more about the moribund state of the AFC South than it does about the talent level on the Colts roster.
The silver lining for fans in Indy is that with quarterback Andrew Luck in place, the Colts will always be a desirable position for potential head coaching candidates. Assuming Irsay doesn't put possible hires off with his flamboyant personality, the Colts should have their pick of the little this offseason.
Of course, Irsay probably isn't happy that this report has emerged and has since done his best to quell talk of Pagano's ousting.
As of today, no decision has been made with respect to any structural changes within the Colts organization for 2016 and beyond.
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) December 31, 2015
