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New era for Indianapolis Colts got really new with the retirements of Tom Moore and Howard Mudd
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Peyton Manning (AP Photo)
A new era already was underway around the Indianapolis Colts.
It just became really, really new.
And a whole lot more interesting.
Offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd, two of the NFL's longest-tenured assistant coaches, have retired, the long-expected and much-anticipated becoming regretably official Thursday when Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer Jim Irsay confirmed to the Indianapolis Star the duo had filed their retirement papers.
And now, of course, there is really only one question.
It doesn't involve the whys of the situation, nor does it involve whether the owners were fair or unfair in changing the NFL's pension for non-players, the fallout from which prompted the 67-year-old Mudd and 70-year-old Moore to step away.
The question is:
What happens to the Colts' offense?
The gut reaction -- and the reaction of many media types locally and nationally -- is that this is a potential body blow to an offense that has been one of the NFL's most productive for more than a decade. Moore is the only offensive coordinator for whom three-time Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning has quarterbacked professionally, and Mudd has been credited with working wonders with an offensive line more often staffed with low-round draft selections than high-equity, early-drafted prototypes.
All true, and it's equally true that Moore and Mudd were cornerstones of one of the most successful NFL structures in recent memory, their 1998 arrival coinciding with the arrival not only of Manning, but of Colts President Bill Polian. Many of the moves Polian has made building the team around Manning have centered around the duo's approach. Often after drafting an offensive lineman Polian would say essentially that he did the drafting, after which the player was handed over to Mudd to see where the players would best fit on the line. Moore had similar cache with the Colts' front office and coaching staff. In 2003, when the Colts surprised many by selecting tight end Dallas Clark in the first round, Polian after the draft -- and I paraphrase here -- said that Moore basically told him Clark was worth the selection, that he would find opportunities in the offense for a player of Clark's ability.
Now, two more of the most influential Colts minds are gone, Moore and Mudd joining Head Coach Tony Dungy, the Colts' head coach from 2002-2008 who retired in January and was succeeded by Jim Caldwell.
Just what the departures mean is impossible to predict, but I'm not among those who consider the offseason happenings a catastrophe. With the departure of Moore, the Colts now will enter the 2009 season with three new coordinators, Caldwell having replacing defensive coordinator Ron Meeks with Larry Coyer and special teams coordinator Russ Purnell with Ray Rychleski early soon after his hiring.
But make no mistake:
Thursday's departures were far different than those in January, the latter being moves made to improve areas and the former being ones that it's hard to imagine anyone around the Colts truly wanted.
On Thursday, when speaking with Indianapolis Star writer Mike Chappell, Irsay said:
We've made it through a number of transitions in the past and we'll make it through this one. As an organization, we've always responded well to challenges.I like the continuity we've been able to maintain combined with the new blood. The new blood has energized us.
He's right. The Colts have won during Irsay's tenure with different people in different positions. They won the AFC East title in 1999 with Jim Mora as the head coach and won 12 games in six consecutive seasons under Dungy. They have made nine playoff appearances in 10 seasons and you don't do that in the modern-day NFL without withstanding serious roster turnover.
And the truth, too, is while the Colts in the Manning/Polian era never have been through a transitiion like this, it is in a very real sense indeed their era, with Polian's drafting of Manning in 1998 the start of the era and Polian's ability to build a roster supporting Manning ever since a huge reason for the Colts being one of the NFL's most-consistent franchises.
The guess here is it will remain so as long as they're there, and to answer the earlier question of, 'What happens to the Colts' offense,' the guess is that it will remain successful, too. Caldwell is a solid replacement for Dungy, with seven years of experience in an offense built with experienced players who should flourish despite a coordinator change. Expectations are Pete Metzelaars, the assistant offensive line coach, will replace Mudd, and speculation, too, has been that longtime wide receivers coach Clyde Christensen could replace Moore.
There's time later to consider the details of what's next, but with Mudd and Moore each nearing an age where retirement was a year consideration, it's unrealistic to think there weren't thoughts given to successions. And while a new coordinator would undoubtedly bring a new wrinkle or two, it's unlikely things will change much. Manning grew up in this offense, and there's little reason to alter it greatly. It's hard to imagine there will be much different schematically the average fans would notice.
The Star on Thursday reported that both Mudd and Moore could return as consultants before the start of training camp. Let's hope that's true, but it's also fair to say even if they do, it will be as different a dynamic around the Colts as there has been in a long, long time.
And even if the Colts' remain successful, a new era just became really, really new. And a whole lot more interesting.
OTHER EXAMINER COLTS TOPICS . . .
- Huge Day of Change May be Drawing Near for Colts
- The Top Five Myths Surrounding the Colts
- The Colts' Top Five Underrated Players
- On Loss of Dom Anile
- Top Five Breakout Players for Colts in 2009
- Loss of Moore, Mudd would be end of an era
- Ex-Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy meets with Michael Vick
- Re-signing DT Ed Johnson makes DT situation even better
- Top Five Nonissues facing Colts in 2009
- Peyton Manning Top 10 underrated moments.
- Breaking Down the 2009 Colts Schedule
- Colts Rookie Minicamp
- Top 10 rookie free agents in the Polian era
- On the re-signing of LB Freddy Keiaho
- Too early to quit on Addai
- A recap of the Colts' 2009 NFL Draft
- Colts had to do what they did with RB Dominic Rhodes
- Signing of S Matt Giordano solidifies position
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