Indianapolis Colts: New GM Ryan Grigson Must Let Go of Jim Caldwell

It's time for new Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson to do his job, and right now, that means letting go of head coach Jim Caldwell.

Thanks for everything Jim, but it's time to move on.

This is certainly not a personal thing, and it shouldn't be taken that way by fans of Caldwell. He's had his fair share of success with the Colts, but his failures this season have been well documented.

Many have attributed his success to his personnel, and with a quarterback like Peyton Manning under center, it's hard to argue with that. The problem is, we all saw what happened when the team didn't have Manning, and the lack of depth and personnel was exposed.

It's an organizational problem, so the obvious first move was to get rid of the people that constructed it: Bill and Chris Polian. The Colts brought in Grigson as their replacement, and now everybody's wondering what will happen to Caldwell.

According to a report from Josh Katzowitz of CBSSports.com, Grigson is going to meet with Caldwell this week:

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Now, the last remaining major question is what Irsay and Grigson will do about Caldwell. As CBS Sports’ Charley Casserly reported on the The NFL Today, Grigson will meet with Caldwell this week and make a recommendation to Irsay about the next step with the team’s head coach. 

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Now, I don't want to tell Grigson how to do his job, but if I were in his position, I would feel obliged to get rid of Caldwell.

The Colts have the opportunity to do something that doesn't happen often in professional sports: start over. They have the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft, and it's almost a foregone conclusion that they will take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck—who many consider to be one of the best NFL prospects to come out in years, mind you.

What that means is that the Manning era in Indianapolis will come to an end sooner rather than later, and, eventually, it will be time to move on from the past.

The best thing Grigson can do is start off this new era of Colts football with a new coach. Don't allow anything of the past to remain, and just move forward fresh into the future.

If that means doing something drastic with Peyton Manning, go for it. What it should mean is letting go of Caldwell and getting a new coach.

Don't be surprised if that ends up being the case.