Despite Being Outcoached, Don't Expect Change on Colts' Coaching Staff

For the fourth game in three seasons, the New England Patriots dominated the Indianapolis Colts.

To call the Colts' 45-7 loss in the AFC Championship Game ugly would be an understatement.

After losing by 20 or more points in each of their previous three defeats to the Patriots, the hope was that the Colts would have learned and delivered a better showing on Sunday.

Instead, the game was out of hand even earlier than usual, and the Colts suffered their worst loss since a 62-7 drubbing in New Orleans in 2011.

With yet another blowout loss on national television, there was a lot of criticism of the Colts' coaches on Sunday night—from Bleacher Report's Collin McCollough among others—and rightfully so.

To some extent, there is a talent disparity between the two teams.

But 38 points' worth of disparity? Between the two teams meeting in the AFC Championship Game? The talent margins in the NFL aren't big enough for that to be possible.

Both offensively and defensively, the Colts' game plans failed miserably. Frankly, they seemed illogical given the two teams' previous matchups.

Just ask the Colts.

"They did the same things they did last time," Colts safety Mike Adams said of the New England offense, per Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star.

"It was pretty much the same game plan as last time," Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton said of the New England defense.

The Colts knew the Patriots would run the ball heavily. They couldn't stop it, as running back LeGarrette Blunt rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns.

The Colts knew the Patriots would double-team T.Y. Hilton and use man coverage heavily on their receivers. They couldn't devise a way to get those receivers open. Hilton made only one grab for 36 yards while Indianapolis posted 126 receiving yards as a team.

The Colts knew Brady would want to throw short passes to the flats and over the middle to his possession receivers. They consistently gave cushions on the outside and left too much open space over the middle.

The in-game adjustments, if there were any, were just as ugly.

The Patriots used crossing routes and pre-snap motion early in the game to free up receivers. Even after halftime, the Colts failed to defend them. The Patriots used nickel and dime coverages all game, but the Colts never committed to running the ball against New England's light fronts.

The list goes on.

Individually, the Colts' coaches had rough nights. Defensive coordinator Greg Manusky's group forced just one punt before the fourth quarter. Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton couldn't devise a plan to attack a Patriots defense that allowed the Ravens to score 31 points the previous week.

Head coach Chuck Pagano's entire team looked unfocused and not ready to play as little mistakes—drops, penalties, missed field goal, muffed punt—littered the Colts' poor start.

Yet despite the horrific showing from the Colts' coaching staff, a change among the core would be a surprise this offseason.

And despite the indignant tweets from Colts fans following Sunday's loss, that's the way it should be.

Yes, Sunday was bad and the Colts' coaches have had a few duds this season. But at the same time, it's hard to look at the season and view it as anything but successful.

The team went to the AFC Championship Game against all expectations. It won the division. It was an overall better team than the 2013-2014 version.

Hamilton crafted the best offense Indianapolis has seen since 2009. Manusky overcame the loss of his best defensive player (Robert Mathis) to scheme up the ninth-most sacks in the NFL. Despite a roster that is light on paper compared to the rest of the league, both coordinators created units that worked pretty well this season, save for a few duds.

Pagano got this team, a team pegged as the likeliest to go one-and-done before the playoffs, to the AFC Championship Game. That matters. That can't be ignored.

No, the Colts' coaching staff isn't perfect. It certainly isn't at the level of teams like the Patriots or Seattle, which is a big reason why those two teams will meet in the Super Bowl in two weeks.

But to ignore the gains the coaches made this season would be unfair, despite what happened in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

There were plenty of things that went wrong on Sunday, and coaching is high on the list—maybe even No. 1.

They shouldn't be given a pass on that.

But don't expect owner Jim Irsay to start calling for heads after the Colts reached the AFC Championship Game in the third year of a franchise rebuild. It's not going to happen.

And honestly, it shouldn't.