Twenty questions with the Indianapolis Colts . . . No. 4: Will Tony Dungy be missed?

July 13, 11:08 AMIndianapolis Colts ExaminerJohn Oehser

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QUESTION NO. 4: Will former Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy be missed?

Tony Dungy, who coached the Colts to seven postseason appearances and a Super Bowl title in seven seasons, retired in January, leaving a solid team, a winning tradition and a major offseason question:

Can the Colts continue winning without him?

For the answer, the Colts -- who have made the playoffs nine times in 10 seasons, winning six division titles in that span -- turned to a man many in the organization consider the perfect successor: Jim Caldwell.

(Note: This is the fourth of a 20-part Examiner series on the Indianapolis Colts -- Twenty Questions with the Colts -- leading into 2009 training camp. Over 20 days, we'll take a look at 20 questions facing the team entering the season . . .)

Caldwell, who coached the Colts' quarterbacks in each of Dungy's seven seasons, served last season as the Associate Head Coach, with the idea being he could succeed Dungy when/if the popular, respected and successful coach opted to retire, as he had considered doing for several previous seasons.

Dungy did so in January, and since then, questions have surrounded the new coach.

What are the similarities between he and Dungy? What are the differences? Can he handle the pressure of succeeding one of the most successful head coaches of the last decade?

Caldwell and Colts players addressed the differences/similarities issues during the team's May/June organized team activities:

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning: I feel like I know him as a quarterback’s coach, but I’m getting to know him as a head coach. He told us in the first meeting . . . he’s 54 years old, coach Dungy has a big influence on him, he’s going to do some things the way coach Dungy did them, but a lot of things he’s going to do his own way.

Colts tight end Dallas Clark: There are a lot of similarities, but they're two different men with very similar foundations, very similar core beliefs in how you run a team. It's exciting. It's exciting as a player to see what changes are going to be made and what's going to stay the same.

Colts center Jeff Saturday: When you sit down in meetings, he’s more poignant to it. He says, ‘Hey, this is how it’s going to go, this is how I am.’ He raises his voice. You can tell he gets agitated and can raise his voice and can get after you with the best of them. On the field, I don’t know what his coaching style is going to be like. I don’t know if he’s going to change things. But off the field, he’s a fantastic person. I have a ton of respect for him.

Caldwell said there naturally will be similarities:

I've been indoctrinated. This is the system I know. I've told our players, 'There are some things that are going to be exactly the same – same verbage, the whole bit, because I believe in it.' That's the reason why. If I would have taken this program and gone somewhere else – if I'd taken a head job at whatever location – I'd still be using the same things we were talking about today, but there are going to be some things that are different. I'm different.  I'm not exactly like him. I think the important thing is – and I just read a great quote about this (recently) that I've kind of stuck in my mind – this is not going to be a situation where there's going to be 'unimaginative replication' of what we've done. It's going to be something that's well thought-out. We're going to try new things with a little different flavor, but we're not going to get away from our core values.”

The questions around Caldwell, while natural considering the familiarity oberservers have with Dungy, likely won't have much influence on the Colts this season. The Colts in recent years have been a team familiar with quiet, smooth transitions in personnel, and the same was true with the transition from Dungy to Caldwell. Shortly after his hiring, he replaced defensive coordinator Ron Meeks with Larry Coyer and special teams coordinator Russ Purnell with Ray Rychleski, two moves that most observers close to the team found unsurprising and necessary. Shortly thereafter, longtime offensive coordinator Tom Moore and longtime offensive line coach Howard Mudd retired because of concerns over the NFL pension plan, but the duo is expected to return in much its old capacity.

The early vibe you get around the Colts is while Caldwell has similar philosophical beliefs to Dungy, he is far from a Dungy clone and that the added discipline/edge that Caldwell brings may be a needed element. And while Caldwell may be unknown to many fans, he's far from unknown in NFL circles. He was a leading candidate for several jobs from 2005-2007, and Indianapolis' move to make him Associate Head Coach likely kept him from taking a similar job somewhere. The guy is qualified, and throughout the offseason, what little uneasiness there was surrounding his ascension came from outside the team. Inside the building, the vibe was confidence. The Colts may or may not get to a Super Bowl this season, and they may or may not extend their streak of six consecutive 12-victory seasons, but if there is a slip, it won't be because there's a new head coach.

QUESTION NO. 4: WILL THE COLTS MISS TONY DUNGY?

Answer: Yes, because Dungy is a class act and beloved by everyone in the organization, but the feeling here is the loss won't hurt them on the field.

EXAMINER SERIES: TWENTY QUESTIONS WITH THE COLTS . . . 

1) Will Jim Sorgi be the backup quarterback?

2) Will special teams be special?

3) Who will be the Colts' breakout player in 2009?

THE POSITION-BY-POSITION PRE-TRAINING CAMP SERIES: 

• The QUARTERBACKS
• The RUNNING BACKS
• The TIGHT ENDS
• The WIDE RECEIVERS
• The OFFENSIVE TACKLES
• The OFFENSIVE GUARDS
• The CENTERS
• The DEFENSIVE ENDS
• The DEFENSIVE TACKLES
• The LINEBACKERS
• The CORNERBACKS
• The SAFETIES

OTHER EXAMINER COLTS TOPICS . . .

• Colts QB Peyton Manning on Steve McNair
• Steve McNair's career often intertwined with the Colts
• QB Peyton Manning nominated for ESPY
• QB Peyton Manning omitted from ESPN.com's All-Decade team
• The best of the Indianapolis Colts blogosphere . . .
• 2009 Colts training camp schedule
• SERIES: Top Five reasons to worry about Colts in 2009 
• SERIES: Top Five reasons to feel good about the Colts in 2009
• Manning: Influence of Tony Dungy still felt around Colts
• A look back at 2009 Colts minicamp
• Mudd, Moore return inevitable, happy end to long story
• Colts to allow sponsors on practice uniforms
• QB Peyton Manning willing to be patient regarding assistants
• A look at the defense entering 2009 minicamp
• A look at the offense entering 2009 minicamp
• QB Peyton Manning among three Colts players ranked highly in Madden 2010
• Hints Emerging about potential Colts defensive changes
• Top Five Real Issues Facing Colts Entering 2009
• Top Five Myths Surrounding the Colts Entering 2009
• Top Five Underrated Players on Colts Entering 2009
• Top Five Breakout Players for Colts Entering 2009
• Top Five Nonissues facing Colts Entering 2009
• Why Colts QB Peyton Manning is primed for another big season
• Preseason dates and times
• Former Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy essays on Michael Vick
• Re-signing DT Ed Johnson makes DT situation even better
• SERIES: Peyton Manning Top 10 underrated moments.
• Breaking Down the 2009 Colts Schedule
• Colts Rookie Minicamp
• Too early to quit on Addai
• A recap of the Colts' 2009 NFL Draft