POSTED 7:53 p.m. EST, January 16, 2008
CALDWELL WITHDRAWS FROM RAVENS, FALCONS GIGS
Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell has withdrawn his name for consideration for head-coaching vacancies in Baltimore and Atlanta.
Hmmmmm.
Schefter speculates that the move means either that Caldwell knows that head coach Tony Dungy is leaving (and that Caldwell is getting the job), or that Caldwell has been promised the job whenever Dungy goes.
We strongly believe that it's the former.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTED 7:37 p.m. EST, January 16, 2008
DUNGY REPORT MAKES WAVES
Colts coach (for now) Tony Dungy told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that Dungy has not yet stepped down.
"Believe it or not, I'm going to go through the process just like I said I would," Dungy said. "[Owner] Jim Irsay and I, along with [team president] Bill Polian, have have been talking about this for the last couple of days in Indianapolis. Jim wants me to open the new stadium. I'm not opposed to it, my wife it not opposed to it. I'm going to go through this process to make sure that I should do it."
That's fine, but we stand by our report: Dungy will step down, and assistant head coach Jim Caldwell will take over.
We're not just jumping to a conclusion based on the tea leaves, which are screaming that Dungy will indeed call it quits after six seasons with the Colts. Though we can't compromise our source(s) on this one, there are more folks involved in this story than Dungy.
Just as the news that the Dolphins hired Tony Sparano apparently got out after other candidates for the job were told that Sparano would be hired, it's entirely possible (and we're speaking hypothetically on this one) that Dungy's status is now an open book in league circles because of things that not Dungy but Caldwell is saying.
Caldwell is (or, perhaps more accurately, was) a candidate for the head-coaching vacancies in Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington.
If (when) Dungy goes, it will cap a successful 12-year run in which he compiled a record of 136-74.
Caldwell was the head coach at Wake Forest from 1993 through 2000. He joined the Bucs in 2001 and jumped to the Colts in 2002 with Dungy.
P.S. Though Mort's report contradicts our, we appreciate the fact that Mort and ESPN actually referred to us by name, both on ESPN.com and on SportsCenter.
