NFL Rumors: Colts Should Make Marty Mornhinweg Their Primary Target

The Indianapolis Colts were a little late in firing head coach Jim Caldwell, but they still have plenty of options at their disposal in terms of finding a replacement.

It's just a matter of which option is the right option. To that end, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg's name has surfaced quite a bit.

It's easy to see why. Mornhninweg is an accomplished NFL coach, and the Colts just hired former Eagles director of player personnel Ryan Grigson to be their new general manager. The thinking is that it wouldn't be that difficult for Grigson to lure Mornhninweg should he decide to pursue him.

That's where things get iffy. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, the Eagles haven't even asked for permission to interview Mornhinweg yet. They might be waiting to ask until after they've interviewed Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray and New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael.

The trouble is that Mornhinweg does have other suitors out there. Most notably, he is scheduled to interview with the Oakland Raiders this weekend.

The Colts don't want to put themselves in a position where they miss out on Mornhinweg before they even get a chance to interview him. He's one of the top assistants on the market, and he's a pretty good fit for the organization.

There's all sorts of uncertainty about the immediate direction of the franchise, but it stands to reason the Colts are going to hire an offensive-minded coach. They're going to need such a coach to mesh with Peyton Manning if the team decides to bring him back, and they're going to need one if they decide to cut Manning loose and put their future in Andrew Luck's hands. The Colts have been a quarterback-centric team for over a decade now, and that's not going to change in the near future.

Mornhinweg knows what it's like to work with a quarterback-centric team. He was Brett Favre's quarterbacks coach with the Green Bay Packers and he ultimately joined an Eagles team that went from Donovan McNabb to Michael Vick.

Just as Mornhinweg should intrigue the Colts, he should be intrigued about the Colts if they come calling. If he won't be coaching Manning, he'll (likely) be coaching Luck. It's a win-win scenario that no other team in the NFL can match.

That includes the Raiders, a mess of a team that will take years to fix.

Despite the fact that Mornhinweg and the Colts are a good fit for one another, all of this chatter is a moot point if the Colts don't at least put in a call to the Eagles and ask permission for an interview.

They have nothing to lose in doing so, and everything to gain.