Nice Guys Finish Last: Jim Caldwell Deserves a Do-Over

I guess it's inevitable right? Everytime a team goes 2-14 and drastically underachieves the coaching staff must be fired. It is very hard for an NFL head coach to keep his job after only winning two games. But Jim Caldwell was no ordinary NFL head coach.

He took over the Colts after being hand-picked by the retiring coach Tony Dungy. Caldwell and Dungy became friends after Caldwell was hired as Dungy's quarterbacks coach at Tampa Bay in 2001. After Dungy was hired by Indianapolis in 2002, he brought Caldwell with him to be his assistant. Caldwell personally coached Peyton Manning for ten years and, according to Peyton Manning, Caldwell was the one who helped him win an NFL record 4 MVP awards. Caldwell also helped lead the Colts to a win in Super Bowl XLI.

After taking over the Colts' head coaching position in 2009, Caldwell led the team to a 14-0 record. After Caldwell decided he would sit the starters for the playoffs, the team lost the final two games of the regular season. Despite the two losses, the team made it to their second Super Bowl appearance in three years and Caldwell became the first rookie coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, the Colts were defeated 31-17 by a highly powered New Orleans Saints team.

Despite a 2010 season that saw extensive injuries to Joseph Addai, Austin Collie, Dallas Clark, Gary Brackett, Kelvin Hayden and Melvin Bullitt, Caldwell led the Colts to a 10-6 record and the team's ninth AFC South title. However, the team lost in the AFC Wildcard round of the playoffs to the New York Jets 17-16.

Then comes the loss of superstar quarterback and future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning prior to the start of the 2011 season. Without Manning, the Colts' quarterback situation was a revolving door with Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. The team again had major injuries to some of their key players and the season quickly spiraled out of control.

The fans and media will automatically place blame on the head coach. But is Caldwell really to blame for the team's miserable and disappointing season? Is he to blame for the poor choice of draft picks in the last several years? Is Caldwell to blame for the team's non-existent role in the free agent market? Is Caldwell to blame for the fact that he never had a healthy team to work with?

Yes, Jim Caldwell did not have the best game management skills. His play-calling was very conservative (for example, the Colts rarely go for fourth and short). But Caldwell kept the Dungy tradition of quiet leadership as well as moral conservatism. The Colts have been known to be a "class act" team thanks in large part to the efforts of Dungy and Caldwell. Yes, the head coach should be extremely scrutinized for suffering a 2-14 record, but Jim Caldwell had a 26-22 record in his three years as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He led the team to two playoff appearances as well as an AFC championship. Manning's injury leaves a stain on the legacy of Jim Caldwell. For what Jim Caldwell has done for this franchise and this city, he deserves a "do over" season.