Colts in a state of flux

The relationship between Colts owner Jim Irsay, left, and quarterback Peyton Manning appears fractured. (Photo- AP/Michael Conroy)

Over the past decade, you could count the most stable franchises in the NFL on one hand. Moreover, you could cut off a few fingers on that hand.

The New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts (and the Philadelphia Eagles to some extent) have been the model teams in the league, thanks to great quarterbacks (Tom Brady and Peyton Manning), great coaches (Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy) and shrewd owners (Robert Kraft and Jim Irsay). While the Patriots are on the way to their fifth Super Bowl of the Brady-Belichick era, the Colts are on their way to rebuilding, and it's not going smoothly.

Indianapolis's 2-14 season showed just how much Manning means to the team, but it also revealed how much he held things together. The team is littered with Pro Bowl-caliber players such as wide receiver Reggie Wayne, defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis and safety Antoine Bethea, but without No. 18, the Colts couldn't score in 2011 and were hardly competitive.

Irsay, in response, has made sweeping changes. He fired vice chairman Bill Polian, general manager Chris Polian and head coach Jim Caldwell. Ryan Grigson, the former director of player personnel for the Eagles, has been installed as the new GM, and former Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano was hired as the new head coach. The big piece in all this, unsurprisingly, is Manning. In about six weeks, he's due a $28 million bonus (essentially taking away his tradeability) or the Colts can cut him. The 35-year-old quarterback is still rehabbing a neck injury, and the team is poised to take Stanford QB Andrew Luck with the first pick in April's draft.

There's a strong possibility Manning's time as a Colt could be over, but nobody's saying exactly that. In an interview with Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star earlier this week, Manning commented on how things around the team felt different:

   "I mean, it's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices," he said. "I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment.
   "I just want to pay tribute to all those guys. It's unfortunate because so many of them have been such a big part of so many big wins here, and this is so ... sudden. Their keys didn't work the next day. There's no other way to do it? I don’t know. That's hard to see, all these people leaving.
   "And I may be behind them. Who knows?"

After the Colts introduced Pagano on Thursday, Irsay had some harsh words for Manning's comments, wishing that the quarterback had kept his comments in-house:

   "I have so much affection and appreciation for Peyton. I mean we're family. We always will be and we are," Irsay said. "He's a politician. I mean look at, when it comes to being competitive, let's just say on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, we're both 11s, OK? So there's been plenty of eggshells scattered around this building by him with his competitive desire to win."

Within hours, both men put out conciliatory statements, saying the decision of whether Manning will stay in Indianapolis will be handled civilly. The consensus of writers and analysts points to Manning being gone. The Colts have major cap issues and decisions to make in regards to re-signing players like Wayne and Mathis. Having Manning's bonus and salary off the books would go a long way in stabilizing Indy's bottom line. The matter of whether Manning will retire or play for another team next season is dependent on his health. Nobody wants a quarterback with a bad neck standing in the pocket against today's defenses, but a healthy Manning could really boost a contending team. 

Whatever happens, it appears the Patriots are now in a class by themselves in terms of model teams in the league, one finger on the hand (you can probably guess what finger it is). What a difference a year can make.