The Indianapolis Colts decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton during the 2015 NFL season and it was a move that many agreed with. Rob Chudzkinski was named his replacement and made a very good impression. According to multiple reports, he has been named the permanent offensive coordinator looking into the 2016 NFL season.
Chudzinski is a perfect fit for the Colts and is going to make a major impact for the Colts next season.
He already showed some creativity during the second half of the season this year. That creativity is going to come up huge for the Colts in 2016, especially with Chuck Pagano and company freeing him up to call the aggressive style of play that he likes. Chudzinsky is fully committed to the running game as well, but Andrew Luck being back at full health will be huge.
Jim Irsay made a tough decision to hang onto Pagano and Ryan Grigson after every rumor said they would be fired. Chudzinski likely wouldn’t be the offensive coordinator if Pagano had been fired.
Indianapolis finished this past season at 8-8 despite all of the adversity that they struggled through. Putting up that kind of record despite missing Luck of the majority of the season was impressive to say the least. That being said, there could be some personnel decisions that will need to be made in the future.
Frank Gore is the starting running back for the Colts, although he is unhappy with the way that the 2015 season went. He will likely be back next season and seemed to fit well into Chudzinski’s offense. Andre Johnson is also an aging veteran that seemed to have a bit of a bounce back second half of the season with the change at offensive coordinator.
It was obviously that the Colts were a better offensive team down the stretch of the season, although they did struggle at times as well.
Expect to see the Colts rally around Pagano, Chudzinski and the rest of the coaching staff. Irsay is banking on the coaching staff figuring things out and leading the team back to relevance next season, which is exactly what Chudzinski will do with the offense. He may not be the best offensive coordinator in the business, but he will show a lot of his potential to be a top offensive mind next season.
Keeping him around was the right move for the Colts and he will prove to be a perfect fit with them.