Identifying the Top 5 Candidates to Replace Jim Caldwell as Colts' Head Coach

The Indianapolis Colts announced Tuesday that they have relieved head coach Jim Caldwell of his duties, ending a three-year run for Caldwell that included a Super Bowl appearance during his first season and a 2-14 year in 2011.

The Colts announced the move via their official Twitter account. Here is the tweet:

Now that Caldwell is gone, the following five names could be in the run to replace him next season in Indianapolis: 

Mike Zimmer

You'll likely hear Zimmer's name mentioned most for this job over the next couple days. The Bengals' defensive coordinator has interviewed at several places already this offseason, including Tampa Bay and Miami. He's rumored to be a top candidate in Miami along with several others.

Jon Gruden

Gruden has said several times that he wants to stay in the broadcast booth, but the possibility of coaching Andrew Luck and/or Peyton Manning could be enough to sway the former coach back to the sidelines. Both Manning and Luck could handle his complex offensive verbiage, too.  

Bill Cowher

I think you'll hear a portion of Colts fans clamoring for Cowher to take over in Indy. The move makes sense in principle, but there's definitely no promise that he'd be willing to leave CBS for the sidelines. I'm not 100 percent confident his coaching style fits the Colts' organization, either. 

Perry Fewell

The Giants' current defensive coordinator has prior head coaching experience with the Buffalo Bills. New York's run through the playoffs could ignite the same kind of interest as their 2007 run did for Steve Spagnuolo.

Marty Mornhinweg

Mornhinweg's run as head coach of the Lions was an unsuccessful venture in many ways. But the Eagles' current offensive coordinator has enough ties to new Colts GM Ryan Grigson, who worked for several years in the Eagles' organization, that could make this hire a possibility. I'm sure Colts fans wouldn't exactly be thrilled, however. 

Others: Dom Capers (Packers), Wade Phillips (Texans), Jim Tressel, Dennis Allen (Broncos), Joe Philbin (Packers)