Colts

Defense

The timing is odd considering Spags interviewed with now-fired coach Jim Caldwell, among others, in Indy. If the Colts are serious about landing Spagnuolo, they join the Eagles and Saints in vying for his services, with the Falcons now out of the mix.

Zimmer has been eliminated from the Dolphins’ search, but he remains alive in Tampa and now Indy. The Colts have three candidates at this point, with Saints OC Pete Carmichael and Titans DC Jerry Gray also set to interview shortly.

Murphy saw the writing on the wall with the Colts cleaning house on Jim Caldwell’s coaching staff. Secondaries coach Rod Perry, DL coach John Teerlinck, and QBs coach Ron Turner were fired Thursday. Murphy took over for a fired Larry Coyer in late November, and got his defense to show major improvement down the stretch. He coached 27 years in the NFL.

Coyer was one of head coach Jim Caldwell’s first hires when he got the job in 2009. It remains to be seen if Caldwell will make it to the 2012 season. The 0-11 Colts have given up more points than any team in the league as their tiny secondary gets exposed week after week. Coyer will be replaced by linebacker coach Mike Murphy. The Colts play in New England on Sunday.

A Steelers assistant since 2003, Butler was instrumental in the development of James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Lawrence Timmons in Pittsburgh. Raw 2010 second-round pick Jason Worilds also flashed big-time ability under Butler’s tutelage this past season. New coordinators Bruce Arians and Butler will fit right in on new Colts coach Chuck Pagano’s staff, as all three worked together under Butch Davis in 2001 with the Browns. Butler will help Pagano install a 3-4 defense as Indianapolis undertakes a full-on rebuilding project. We wouldn’t expect Robert Mathis, Gary Brackett, or Dwight Freeney back in 2012.

Pagano isn’t known to have any history with new GM Ryan Grigson, so the Colts’ coaching search appears to have been approached with an open mind. Pagano’s 2011 Ravens defense ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed, fourth against the pass, and second versus the run. Pagano runs a hybrid 4-3/3-4 and is likely to remake Indianapolis’ defense. He’ll likely look to hire a quarterback-focused offensive coordinator to work with Andrew Luck. It’s perhaps worth noting that Hue Jackson was on Baltimore’s staff with Pagano in 2008 and 2009.

The timeline suggests new Colts GM Ryan Grigson never had any intention of keeping Jim Caldwell as head coach. Owner Jim Irsay emphatically denies the Post-Dispatch report, calling it “B.S.” Added Irsay, “We weren’t involved in any Fishing expedition, stayed far clear of it.”

Bowles has already interviewed with the Raiders. His second interview with the Dolphins is expected to go down Wednesday or Friday of this week. Bowles, who went 2-1 as interim coach in Miami, would satisfy the Rooney Rule for the Colts.

Interviewing Gray would satisfy The Rooney Rule for Indianapolis, which has not yet followed through on a visit with Dolphins DBs coach Todd Bowles as was reported. A journeyman assistant, Gray coached up a young Titans secondary in 2011 that was far better than its No. 13 pass-defense ranking indicates.

Chuck Pagano figures to be primary Indy’s decision maker on defense, but Manusky’s history is in the 3-4 and he has experience as a linebackers coach. The Colts missed out on Steelers LBs coach Keith Butler for this job.