A few less variables: Indianapolis Colts offensive assistants situation continues to come into focu

Indianapolis Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay doesn't mind a bit of pot-stirring.

Particularly if the stirrer is the franchise quarterback.

Irsay, the Colts' Owner and CEO since 1997, spoke to the Associated Press Tuesday, saying he didn't much mind the recent comments by Colts QB Peyton Manning expressing frustration over the inhouse communication around the retirements/potential returns of offensive assistants Tom Moore and Howard Mudd.

"Peyton doesn’t like uncertainty - no one does," Irsay told the AP. "But sometimes that’s all you can communicate. I’ve got no problems with people being feisty to win. If someone wants to stir the pot, let them stir the pot."

On Tuesday, Irsay continued to clear up a lot of uncertainty, saying for the second time in three days that he expects Moore and Mudd to return, and saying he expects them to return in essentially their former roles.

To review: Moore, offensive coordinator since 1998, and Mudd -- offensive line coach during the same span - retired last month because of concern over the NFL's pension plan. Irsay said shortly thereafter he expected them to return as consultants, but said clear communication about the issue had been difficult because of "moving variables." With the variables moving, Moore and Mudd stayed away from organized team activities sessions and minicamp, with wide receivers coach Clyde Christensen and assistant line coach Pete Metzelaars assuming duties of coordinator and line coach, respectively.

On May 26, Manning addressed the issue:

I wouldn’t say I totally like the way it is right now. It’s not normal not having a full coaching staff. . . . It’s not a situation that I’m just thrilled about. I think the communication has been pretty poor in my opinion. But that’s what we’re dealing with. . . . Somebody says one thing, then somebody else says another thing. I’m not sure everybody’s on the same page in this building. I’m just trying to focus on playing quarterback well.

Manning then met with Colts President Bill Polian and Colts Head Coach Jim Caldwell, saying at this past weekend's 2009 mandatory minicamp, "I do know that Jim Caldwell has a plan, as he told me 'an either-or scenario.' That plan sounds good to me. I'll be there to support it in whatever direction it goes."

That pretty much ended the Manning-is-upset angle, but the issue of exactly when Moore and Mudd would return and in what roles dangled a bit until the past few days, when Irsay twice addressed the situation. First, he told Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star Saturday that the two were returning as consultants with "very significant roles" and that they were going to be involved "big-time."

Irsay that day said Mudd and Moore expressed a desire to coach at least one more year and that Caldwell made the final say on deciding that Moore and Mudd would return.

"This was Jim Caldwell's call ultimately,'' Irsay said. "Bill and I are there to support the head coach, and we do. I asked Jim what he wanted, and he wanted to see these guys come back and be part of things. Everything is good.''

Irsay said that day Moore and Mudd would start getting paid on August 1 and that "we'll go forward from there.

"There is no obstacle of any real aspect that is in the way of doing what I want to do," Irsay told the Star.

On Tuesday, the story took further shape when Irsay spoke to the AP, commenting on Manning's frustration and also saying that Moore and Mudd will be paid similarly to what they made previously. He also said he expects Moore and Mudd to resume their old duties and that ultimately, Caldwell will make the the final decision.

"It doesn't matter what I envision, it's Jim's team," Irsay told the AP. "He's talked it through with Tom and Howard and Clyde and Pete. I said 'Jim, what do you want' and he said he wanted them back. He's the decider."

The Colts' OTA sessions close Wednesday, which means the next major day on the Colts' calendar is the opening of training camp at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Players are scheduled to report to camp on August 2, and after several weeks of uncertainty, speculation and a bit of quarterback-fueled controversy, they will report there with Mudd and Moore in essentially their old role.

I've written before during the Mudd-Moore saga that a lot of this seemed like much ado about not much, even when Manning expressed his frustration. This smelled from early on like one of those stories that has great offseason appeal but that tends to fade into memory once the season begins. Yes, Moore and Mudd are critical components to one of the most successful offenses in NFL history, but from early on, I just couldn't get past the feeling that if Irsay, Caldwell and Polian wanted the assistants back, something could be done to make that happen. And while there has been concern expressed by observers about chain-of-command issues with Christensen and Metzelaars briefly assuming bigger roles than before, I can't see that as a problem. Not considering the respect the duo has for Moore and Mudd and not considering the strong organizational structure that long has been a big reason for the Colts' success.

All of which is good news for the Colts, because after an offseason of moving variables and pot-stirring, the reality is things on the Colts' offensive staff won't be too much different than they were before.

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