Are Coaching Changes the Answer for the Indianapolis Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts are in desperate need of a change. 

After Sunday's 27-21 loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Colts must be considering making significant changes to their coaching staff. 

After losing to the New England Patriots last week and with matchups against undefeated Carolina, undefeated Denver and 6-1 Atlanta coming up on the schedule, the Colts desperately needed a win against the Saints. But instead, the team came out completely flat for the umpteenth time this season, handing New Orleans a 27-0 lead before showing any signs of life at all. 

This lack of preparation and readiness to play is, unfortunately, the story of the Colts' season, and it reflects extremely poorly on the coaching staff, be it head coach Chuck Pagano or anybody else on staff. 

The team is tied for 19th in the league with four touchdown drives in the first quarter, and yesterday was the Colts' third time in five game with Andrew Luck at quarterback where the team has been shut out in the first half. 

Against the Patriots in Week 6, the Colts came out fired up and played well in the first half, up 21-20 at halftime, but that's been an anomaly this season. 

The team was down 17-0 at halftime against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, 10-0 against the New York Jets in Week 2 and 27-14 to the Titans after three quarters in Week 3. 

The most depressing part of these slow starts is that it's the Colts' best players that are playing poorly. Anthony Castonzo. T.Y. Hilton. Andrew Luck. These are the players that should be carrying Indianapolis, but they've been just as much part of the problem, if not more. 

If it was just slow starts, that would be one thing. But this team has a myriad of problems that stem from poor coaching.

For example, the team has the fifth-most penalties in the league, per NFLPenalties.com, including the most offensive holding penalties and ninth-most false start penalties—stupid, undisciplined plays that put the offense in horrible situations. 

The team lacks discipline and fundamentals all around.

But perhaps the biggest indictment of the team's coaching is the complete lack of offensive success this season, in a year where the team should have been one of the league's best offensive units. 

We know the defense lacks talent in certain areas, namely linebacker and pass-rusher, that severely caps its play. But the offense does not lack talent. 

There are four very good, high-potential receivers on the team, with incredible amounts of speed and two of the most promising young receivers in the league in T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief. The team signed Andre Johnson to a three-year, $21 million contract this offseason, and while he's aging quickly, he is a smart, physical and wily veteran who should be able to produce something. Frank Gore has been a tremendous asset to Indianapolis and has run extremely well all season, averaging 4.6 yards per carry. 

Sure, the offensive line is below-average, but it's capable, as we saw in games against Jacksonville and Houston. 

The problem is that the utilization of all of that talent has been putrid. 

The receivers have done a terrible job of getting open, and the offensive scheme has been a big part of that. The team has put itself in such poor situations, both in regard to the score and down sequence, that a successful run game is often neutralized. Play-calling seems to have no rhyme or reason to it, and opposing defenses have been able to confuse the Colts seemingly at will. 

But above all, Andrew Luck has regressed. 

Year	Comp. %	Y/A	AY/A	TDs/INT	Passer Rating
2012	54.1%	7.0	6.4	1.28	76.5
2013	60.2%	6.7	6.8	2.56	87.0
2014	61.7%	7.7	7.9	2.5	96.5
2015	56.2%	6.7	5.8	1.22	76.3

It's not just his shoulder injury, which may have affected a few inaccurate throws. It's his unreliable pre-snap reads, his lack of ball control all season and his hesitancy to get rid of the ball.

Luck has a lot of control at the line of scrimmage, but he's rarely been able to identify the receivers with advantageous matchups before the snap this year. The best quarterbacks in the league get rid of the ball quickly because they know where they are going with it before the snap, and are usually right. That hasn't been the case this season for Luck. 

He has been a shell of himself, and as a result, so has the offense. 

A part of this is the offensive system, which is designed for a power-running, balanced team that the Colts simply have not possessed. The scheme relies on play action and formation variations to confuse defenses and produce big plays, but defenses have keyed in on it. When the Colts running game becomes obsolete, due to undisciplined penalties or a lopsided score, the offense tanks. 

That's just unacceptable for a team with this much talent at receiver and quarterback. 

The Colts desperately need a change.

But is a midseason firing of a coach the way to go? Players in the locker room love Chuck Pagano, and you don't want to alienate any of your core pieces moving forward. 

On the other hand, if the Colts know they need a coaching change, why delay? Firing Pagano or any other coach on staff won't fix the problem by itself (the next hiring and how the transition process is handled will determine that), but it is the first step.

General manager Ryan Grigson's job security is a whole different manner, but if Grigson is trying to right the ship in Indianapolis and save his own job, being patient with this coaching staff doesn't seem like the way to do it.

Perhaps you let Pagano and his staff finish the season. Maybe they turn things around and get the team back into the postseason. It seems unlikely, but with the lack of divisional competition, the Colts could certainly do it. They might even win a game or two in the postseason. 

Again, it seems unlikely, but possible.

But the Colts are no closer to being able to beat the league's elite teams; in fact, they seem further away than ever. And if this coaching staff can't get this team to a Super Bowl, then what is the point?