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| Taking his first career head coaching job, Pagano will no longer be with the great Ray Lewis. |
Pagano was given permission to interview for the job following Baltimore's heartbreaking 23-20 loss in the AFC Championship Game Sunday, coming at the hands of the New England Patriots. Indianapolis has said Pagano will be officially introduced in a press conference on Thursday.
He is the fourth Raven defensive coordinator to receive a head coaching job, joining Marvin Lewis (Bengals), Mike Nolan (49ers) and Rex Ryan (Jets).
The 51-year-old Pagano first came to the Ravens in 2008 when then-first year head coach John Harbaugh hired him to be the team's secondary coach. He served in that position for three years before being promoted prior to the start of this season as the defensive coordinator, succeeding Greg Mattison.
Mattison left to return to the University of Michigan, taking the defensive coordinator job, a position he previously held at the university.
In his first (and now only) season as Baltimore's defensive coordinator, Pagano put together the third ranked defense in the National Football League and saw four of his starters be selected to the Pro Bowl. The list consists of Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs.
Prior to making the move to the NFL, Pagano had spent his first 16 seasons coaching in college football. Known only only as an assistant throughout his career, Pagano got his first taste of the NFL in 2001 when he was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their secondary coach.
In his first season in Cleveland, Pagano's secondary were responsible for 28 of the Brown' league-best 33 interceptions. Two years later, Pagano was a major contributor to the Cleveland defense tying a franchise record.
The Browns only allowed 13 passing touchdowns that season.
After only one more season in Ohio, he left to become the defensive backs coach for the Oakland Raiders, a position he would hold for two seasons before jumping back to the NCAA. In 2007, Pagano served as the defensive coordinator for the North Carolina Tar Heels.
A man that has never been the top dog anywhere he's been is now in charge in turning around a team in turmoil.
The Colts finished the 2011-12 season with the worst record in the league at 2-14. And while that has handed them the first overall pick in April's draft, it has caused many to lose their jobs. Jim Caldwell, who had been the team's head coach for the last three seasons that included a trip to the Super Bowl, was fired to kick off the New Year.
That was after vice chairman Bill Polian and his son, Chris, who served as the team's vice president and general manager since 2009, were part of the firing frenzy that owner Jim Irsay has been on.
Irsay has since hired 39-year-old Ryan Grigson to be the team's GM moving forward, but he won't have anything to do with the fate of Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning.
Manning never took a snap this season after recovering from neck surgery. Irsay has already stated that the team will take Stanford's Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick, posing an interesting situation for Manning and the Colts.
It's not as if both Manning and Luck cannot coexist because history shows it's possible. Steve Young sat behind Joe Montana in San Francisco before getting his team to the Super Bowl and eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Most recent, Aaron Rodgers has won a Super Bowl and could receive his first MVP Award this season after spending the first three years of his career sitting behind the iconic Brett Favre.
It's not if they can, it's will they?
Manning is due a $28 million bonus in early March, a bonus that could decide his future in Indianapolis.
Whomever is under center for the Colts next season, Pagano will be happy to have them, but be more focused on playing with his new defensive toys, Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Which is contingent upon the team resigning Mathis, who is soon-to-be a unrestricted free agent.
Either way, it looks to be an end of an era in Colts football.
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