Well, this may put a damper on that whole "Chuck Pagano is staying in Indianapolis and there's no more in-fighting going on between Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson so everything is hunky dory now," thing. Colts owner Jim Irsay and, possibly, Grigson, reportedly kept their head coaching options open until the very last minute on Monday night, prior to signing Pagano to a new four-year contract.
Per Tom James of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, the Colts were negotiating with New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton's reps...while they were speaking with Pagano.
According to an NFL source, the Colts were negotiating with Sean Payton reps while Pagano talks were also happening. Talks broke down.
— Tom James (@TribStarTJames) January 5, 2016
Of course, just about any team in the NFL would take Payton in a heartbeat, except for maybe the New England Patriots, so it makes sense that Irsay & Co. would at least see what's available to them before making a four-year commitment to Pagano and a three-year commitment to Grigson, tying the pair together for the foreseeable future in Indy. And there's also the fact that a couple of plugged-in NFL media members have since, denied the report.
But if it's true, it's certainly not a good look that Pagano both wasn't the team's first choice - as James suggests, talks "broke down," so Irsay was obviously trying to lure Payton to Indy, but eventually decided he wouldn't pay whatever price was being asked of him - and wasn't even given the courtesy of Irsay's full attention while meeting with the owner regarding his fate as a football coach.
"Look, I could have walked someone in that door tonight or tomorrow night and have them come walking in with eight figures a year on themselves or whatever and say, 'I'm making the big splash,'" Irsay said Monday night, presumably while preening and flashing his feathers in an alluring manner. "Look, if that was the best for us, believe me, I would do it."
It makes for an interesting dynamic in Indy, where Pagano has consistently been treated as the "well, he's not the best, but he's all we've got," candidate. The Colts reportedly lowballed him at the outset of the 2015 season, something Pagano understandably balked at, and then reports and rumors swirled all season that Pagano and Grigson were at odds and creating unnecessary tension within the Colts front office - tension apparently fueled by pressure from Irsay to win, and win now.
In the end, Pagano is the guy going forward - at least until another 8-8 season or worse - and Grigson will continue on as the man tasked with purchasing the groceries.
But something about the process, the organization, in Indy seems a little off after so many years of harmony with Peyton Manning running the offense and Tony Dungy at the helm. Irsay, a notoriously volatile owner, seems the common denominator, but it's hard to say from the outside if it's his influence that's rocking the boat in Indy.
But hey, at least they didn't make a run at Nick Saban when Pagano got up to go to the bathroom.
