UPDATE: Jim Irsay says he will keep head coach Chuck Pagano in 2017 — but as we all know, plans in the NFL can change in a blink of an eye. What’s said publicly rarely matches what’s said privately. Stay tuned.
Nearly three weeks after the NFL season concluded, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay decided to fire GM Ryan Grigson on Saturday.
Many agreed the move was overdue. The Colts stumbled into Andrew Luck in 2012 thanks to Peyton Manning’s neck injury. Since then, a bevy of Grigson’s draft picks have been failures and doubling-down on veterans in free agency did not paid off. Indianapolis missed the playoffs the last two seasons after advancing to the AFC Championship in 2014.
I’m not trying to be a fear monger here, but there’s a legitimate chance the new Colts GM will fire head coach Chuck Pagano.
And if that happens, everything Jed York has been working on will be up in jeopardy.
The Colts would very likely interview Kyle Shanahan for the position, especially if he beats Green Bay this weekend. And who wouldn’t want to go coach a team with a franchise quarterback already in place? It could take the 49ers years — or decades — to secure a quarterback as gifted and talented as Luck. For all their flaws, Irsay’s organization is in much better shape than York’s franchise. The Colts job is more attractive than the 49ers’.
With that said, the Colts opening could draw bigger names that would still keep Shanahan locked in with San Francisco. Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh are names you’ll hear on the rumor mill if the Colts do decide to fire Pagano. Peyton Manning may even be in the discussions to become the team’s VP of football operations, ala John Elway in Denver.
We already thought Shanahan had tremendous leverage on the 49ers, which could include control of the 53-man roster and hiring authority on the next GM.
But should he start fielding an interview from the Colts, Shanahan will truly have the 49ers handcuffed. What would York’s next move be?
He’d have to open his checkbook to make somebody the highest-paid coach in NFL history. He’d have to conduct more interviews. Because after the Chip Kelly and Jim Tomsula disasters, this next hire cannot be someone who is just desperate to take the job, or someone who York feels comfortable with.
David Shaw from Stanford would make the most sense, but you’re talking about paying him $12-15 million a season.
For the sake of 49ers fans, let’s hope York can avoid this nightmare scenario and get Shanahan’s signature on a contract as soon as possible.
When you wait this long to make a hire, though, these are the kinds of risks you take.