Colts Replace WRs Coach, Retain Most Of Staff
While the Colts are set for a front-office transition, they are set to return most of their offensive coaching staff, with one exception. The Bills’ previous wide receivers coach, Sanjay Lal, will make the move to Indianapolis to work in the same capacity, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). Lal coached Buffalo’s wideouts for two seasons. Between 2009-14, he worked with the Raiders’ and Jets’ receiving corps. Lal replaces Lee Hull, whom the team dismissed.
Aside from that switch, the Colts will return OC Rob Chudzinski‘s staff. Former Dolphins HC Joe Philbin will remain in charge of Indianapolis’ offensive line, Quarterbacks coach Brian Schottenheimer will return as well. Although, no such assurances are made to this staff beyond the 2017 season, and per Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star, the assistants are exhibiting a sense of relief at the Senior Bowl that Ryan Grigson‘s firing did not come with a sizable staff shakeup.
- Jim Irsay continues to consult with former Colts GM Bill Polian, per Holder, about the search to replace Grigson. Holder isn’t certain the Hall of Fame executive will sit in on the interviews, but it’s clear he’s functioning as a sounding board for his former boss.
Colts’ GM Candidates List Includes Kirchner, Excludes DeCosta
The Colts have a list of six names they will interview for their vacant GM position. Jim Irsay confirmed Seahawks co-player personnel director Trent Kirchner as one of the six candidates, joining the remainder of a sextet that was each connected to the 49ers’ GM job.
The lone name connected to the Colts’ search the 49ers didn’t pursue, Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, doesn’t appear among the candidates. So, it’s relatively safe to assume DeCosta’s trend of turning down interview requests continued despite his friendship with Chuck Pagano. DeCosta looks set to begin a 22nd season with the Ravens and a sixth as Ozzie Newsome‘s right-hand man. He’s viewed as a potential successor to Newsome when the Hall of Famer decides to step down.
Kirchner withdrew from the 49ers’ search last week but will see if the Colts’ job appeals to him. The seven-year Seahawks staffer will have some company, the remainder of whom we previously heard would interview for the latest NFL GM vacancy.
Kirchner’s co-player personnel director mate in Seattle, Scott Fitterer, will interview for the job. Vikings assistant GM George Paton, Packers director of football operations Eliot Wolf, Chiefs player personnel director Chris Ballard and Colts interim GM/vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III comprise the rest of the list. Paton is the only name in this group who is a finalist for the 49ers’ job. He will meet with the 49ers for a second time on Saturday, joining Cardinals exec Terry McDonough in doing so.
Ballard is set to interview for the Colts’ job today, with Paton expected to follow suit either today or Thursday. Wolf’s interview will occur later this week as well.
Packers’ Eliot Wolf To Meet With Colts
Add Eliot Wolf to the list of names who will take the Colts up on their offer to interview for the vacant GM job. The 34-year-old Packers executive will meet with the Colts later this week to discuss his credentials for the position, Mike Garafolo of NFL.com tweets.
The pursuit of the Colts’ top front-office position is clearing up, with Chiefs player personnel director Chris Ballard also agreeing to meet with Jim Irsay about the job. Ballard and Wolf join internal candidate Jimmy Raye III, Seahawks co-player personnel director Scott Fitterer and Vikings assistant GM George Paton as those who have accepted Indianapolis’ interview requests.
The 34-year-old Wolf recently signed a contract extension to stay in Green Bay, which helped influence him to bow out of the 49ers’ GM race despite being tabbed as a finalist. However, it appears as though the young executive may hold this latest opportunity in higher regard.
If hired, Wolf would not have the opportunity this year of selecting a new head coach with the Colts since Irsay reaffirmed his commitment to Chuck Pagano. But the 49ers’ GM candidates don’t appear to have that luxury either, with Kyle Shanahan having input as to which GM the team hires. And the winner of the race to replace Ryan Grigson in Indy will have a franchise quarterback to build around in Andrew Luck.
Colts To Interview Chris Ballard For GM Job
The Colts continue to traverse the path the 49ers did weeks ago at the outset of their GM search, and Indianapolis has requested permission to interview a candidate who didn’t end up getting that chance in San Francisco. The team sent out a request to meet with Chiefs director of football operations Chris Ballard, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (on Twitter).
Ballard will take the Colts up on their offer and interview for the job, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The interview will occur today, per Rapoport. Ballard joins Jimmy Raye III, Scott Fitterer and George Paton as confirmed candidates who will meet with Jim Irsay for the job.
This comes after the 49ers made the same request, but San Francisco didn’t have a chance to meet with the exec that was reportedly the team’s first choice because Kansas City blocked the move. With teams being able to block execs from interviewing for GM jobs during their respective seasons, the 49ers lost out on that opportunity. Since the Chiefs’ season is over, Ballard made the decision on his own and will vie for the job.
Ballard has been with the Chiefs for four seasons, coming to Kansas City at the same time GM John Dorsey did. In that span, the Chiefs have returned to being a perennial playoff contender after more than five years spent residing mostly near the bottom of the league. Kansas City finished its second straight season in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Colts Request GM Summit With Ravens’ Eric DeCosta
A seventh name surged into the mix for the Colts’ GM job. The team sent an interview request toward Ravens assistant GM Eric DeCosta, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com tweets. DeCosta worked with Colts coach Chuck Pagano during Pagano’s stay in Baltimore.
DeCosta usually surfaces around this time of year, but the career Baltimore executive hasn’t followed through on leaving the organization yet. He was a candidate for the Seahawks’ GM post that John Schneider ended up filling in 2010, ultimately pulling out of the running. DeCosta declined Raiders interest years ago to fill their GM job and also chose not to interview with the Titans last year for the job Jon Robinson ended up taking. A Ravens staffer since the franchise’s metamorphosis in Maryland in 1996, DeCosta has served as Ozzie Newsome‘s right-hand man since 2012.
“I get a chance to work with my friends. Every day, I come in and work with my friends. I think it’s a relationship business,” DeCosta said in 2015 on why he continues to work in this capacity with the Ravens. “In the end, personal ambitions aside, all you have is really your reputation and your friends and your enjoyment in life. And I love Baltimore, the community.”
So, Jim Irsay‘s latest push might not be enough to sway him. Breer notes he and Pagano are close, so that could be a key element in this process. Regardless of whether the 45-year-old DeCosta takes the interview or not, he’s the seventh candidate to receive a request this week. And DeCosta is the first that did not come up during the 49ers’ search. The Colts have now requested three more interviews on Tuesday, with those for Eliot Wolf and Chris Ballard preceding DeCosta’s.
Cardinals’ Terry McDonough Set For Second 49ers Meeting
Cardinals vice president of player personnel Terry McDonough will meet with the 49ers about their GM vacancy for a second time, doing so this weekend, Kent Somers of AZCentral.com tweets. The interview will occur on Saturday, likely in Atlanta, per Somers.
Vikings assistant GM George Paton, the only other known finalist, will also conduct his interview for the 49ers’ job on Saturday, Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports (on Twitter). While McDonough previously resided as a finalist along with Paton, this confirms the two-man race. The team has not set up any additional follow-up meetings.
McDonough has not been connected with the Colts’ GM opening, while Paton is now in the running for both jobs. Paton is expected to meet with the Colts on Wednesday or Thursday, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News tweets. Falcons OC Kyle Shanahan, the runaway leader in the race to become the 49ers’ next HC, is scheduled to be at Paton’s meeting. Presumably, the Super Bowl-bound play-caller will be at McDonough’s as well.
McDonough’s official summons for a second sitdown with the 49ers comes after previous confirmed finalists Eliot Wolf and Brian Gutekunst chose to sign extensions to stay with the Packers.
Colts Request Interview With Eliot Wolf
The Packers awarded director of football operations Eliot Wolf a new contract to stay in Green Bay last week, but that apparently isn’t going to stop general manager-needy teams from courting him. The Colts, who are continuing to compile candidates in their search to replace the fired Ryan Grigson, have requested an interview with Wolf, according to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora (Twitter link).
Wolf, 34, is the fifth known candidate with whom the Colts at least hope to meet. Along with Wolf, the Colts have thus far requested to speak with the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel — Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer — and will interview Vikings assistant GM George Paton. Indianapolis also has an in-house option, vice president of football operations Jimmy Raye III, who could be the favorite to land the role.
Every serious candidate who has emerged for the Colts has also been under consideration for the 49ers’ still-vacant GM position this month. The only member of the group who’s still in the running is Paton. Wolf would have joined Paton as a finalist and gone through a second interview with the Niners this week had he not withdrawn from the race. While their job wasn’t able to entice him to leave Green Bay, perhaps he’ll entertain the notion of heading to Indianapolis and inheriting a franchise quarterback in Andrew Luck.
Jim Irsay Will Be Making GM Hire
- Colts owner Jim Irsay will be hiring the team’s new general manager on his own, reports Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Since Irsay won’t be relying on other team officials, Florio believes Irsay will lean towards promoting executive Jimmy Raye III. The writer cites the owner’s familiarity with Raye, as well as the executive’s supposed willingness to stick with head coach Chuck Pagano.
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Colts To Interview 49ers GM Finalist George Paton
The Colts’ list of candidates for their GM role thus far consists entirely of executives who interviewed with the 49ers as well, and one may have a choice to make. George Paton will interview with the Colts, Ben Goessling of ESPN.com reports.
Indianapolis requested an interview with Paton, along with Seahawks co-player personnel directors Scott Fitterer and Trent Kirchner, earlier today. Paton is scheduled to meet with the 49ers again on Friday or Saturday, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter), where he’s slated to join Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan, Tom Pelissero of USA Today reports (via Twitter). Pelissero adds the Colts hope to meet with GM candidates in the next few days. They are also scheduled to meet with internal candidate Jimmy Raye III.
While each of the Colts’ candidates has interviewed with the 49ers, Paton is unique because he is a finalist for the San Francisco job. He’s “very much” the leader in that race, Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Complicating matters, the Colts have proven to feature a more stable environment, Ryan Grigson‘s ouster notwithstanding, in recent years. The 49ers became the first team in nearly 40 years to fire first-year coaches in back-to-back years, and the Colts obviously have a long-term quarterback in Andrew Luck. Despite underwhelming at 8-8, the Colts won more games in 2016 than the 49ers did in the past two seasons combined.
A 10-year Vikings exec, Paton rejected opportunities to leave Minnesota in recent years. But this time Rick Spielman‘s top staffer appears serious about becoming a GM elsewhere.
Colts Request Interviews With Trent Kirchner, Scott Fitterer, George Paton
The Colts are invading the 49ers’ turf after establishing a GM search party nearly three weeks later. The team has requested interviews with three candidates on the 49ers’ initial list, including one that’s believed to be a finalist for the San Francisco job.
Indianapolis has requested interviews with Vikings assistant GM George Paton and the Seahawks’ co-directors of player personnel — Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer — according to USA Today’s Tom Pelissero (Twitter links).
Fitterer will interview for the position, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com tweets, and the summit with the Colts is scheduled for Thursday.
This makes four known candidates for Indianapolis’ newly available GM job, with internal candidate Jimmy Raye III believed to be holding an early lead. However, the Colts are planning to interview four or five candidates, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets, expecting some of these summits to occur in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl. Rapoport expects plenty of overlap in the two teams’ GM searches.
Paton remains in the running for the 49ers’ job after advancing through the first round of interviews. He joins Cardinals exec Terry McDonough as those considered to be finalists for the Bay Area vacancy. Kirchner bowed out of the 49ers’ GM race shortly after Tom Cable withdrew from the head coaching search, while Fitterer did not advance to the finalist stage, joining Raye in that regard. Fitterer dropped out of the running for an Eagles executive position last year.