La Canfora’s Latest: Colts, Texans, Trades

With 2015 shaping up to be Chuck Pagano‘s last in Indianapolis, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes, the Miami Hurricanes job could be in play for the fourth-year coach.

The rest of the Colts‘ staffers are set for an uncertain future, with Jim Irsay considering changes after the thus-far-underwhelming team’s Week 10 bye.

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton‘s job is on the line. Pagano, per La Canfora, wanted associate head coach Rob Chudzinski to run the offense, and longtime organizational staffer Clyde Christensen also looms as an OC candidate in the event Pagano’s preferences are no longer relevant.

Pagano’s Miami connection stems from being the Hurricanes’ secondary coach from 1995-2000.

Irsay hopes to lure a top head-coaching candidate to Indianapolis next year, and that would mean GM Ryan Grigson would almost certainly be shown the door, the CBS reporter notes.

Here are some additional notes from La Canfora on Week 8 Sunday.

• The schism that formed in Houston recently between Bill O’Brien and GM Rick Smith regarding now-ex-Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett will lead to a change in the organization’s power structure, La Canfora reports. The ninth-year GM could see a reassignment if O’Brien is to assume more control, as he’s used to the head coach having from his years with the Patriots. The present setup involves both O’Brien and Smith reporting to owner Bob McNair separately, and McNair doesn’t see that as a sustainable model in light of the Mallett incident. It’s caused a divide within the organization, sources told La Canfora. “It’s gone from a slow drip to a waterfall,” a team source told the CBS scribe, describing the rift that’s become off-putting for McNair.
• Matt Forte and Brian Cushing are available for trades, La Canfora notes, mentioning the Bears, Texans and 49ers as the teams most likely to operate as sellers in advance of the Nov. 3 trade deadline. The 49ers have also entertained teams’ interest on offensive lineman Alex Boone and have fielded calls on Vernon Davis. The Seahawks are a team that is willing to trade a depth piece to acquire an offensive lineman to help fix their biggest issue, La Canfora reports. The Ravens and Chargers, despite carrying 11 losses between them, are viewed as being more hesitant to sell off veterans.