Wrong re-dress

Ah, those wacky Indianapolis Colts. Once again they're about to trip over the footstool like Dick Van Dyke back in the day.

Not all that long ago they were regarded as one of the most competent organizations in football, and now, well, not so much. Now -- even if you put the footstool in the middle of the Mojave desert, with nothing around it but miles of big empty -- the Colts would find a way to trip over it. Dysfunction Junction is their home address these days.

Case in point: This whole Chuck Pagano-Ryan Grigson flap.

Reports out of Indy indicate Colts owner Jim Irsay has chosen his side in that little contretemps, and as usual he's chosen the wrong one. It looks more and more like Pagano is the one who's going to get the gate come Monday morning, leaving Grigson to bring in more 85-year-olds and third-string wide receivers, or whatever goofy notion strikes his fancy come draft/free agent season.

That Grigson is the guy who's driven this franchise off a cliff is obvious to everyone but the people making the decisions out on 56th Street in Indy, which of course is why Grigson will stay and Pagano will go. And, of course, Grigson will get a say in who the Colts hire to replace Pagano, which leads to the completely idiotic scenario of Grigson getting to decide his own fate in the process.

In other words, he'll opt for the guy most willing to be micromanaged the way Grigson micromanaged Pagano, because it stands to reason he's not going to give the thumbs up to any coaching hire who demands the GM stay the hell out of his locker room and/or gives him a say in personnel decisions. Which would be just about any coaching hire who'd be worth, well, hiring.

So how's that gonna work?

Look. There's no question Pagano bears some blame for this season's fall from grace, too. On the other hand, given the deeply flawed hand he was given, he doesn't bear that much blame. That the Colts could win tomorrow and finish .500 with the mess they're putting on the field right now should be regarded as a testament to their head coach, not an indictment.

Think about it: Grigson gave Pagano a football team that can't run and can't protect the passer because he didn't build an offensive line. He wasted free agency on a bunch of senior citizens who, with the exception of running back Frank Gore, have contributed nothing. With the possible exception of a couple of guys, there are no playmakers on defense. And he apparently demanded lineup changes that didn't work, either.

All that did was get Andrew Luck, the engine of the Colts offense, knocked out for the season on November 8.  Then Luck's backup got beat up. Then the backup to the backup got beat up. A bunch of other injuries ensued, as they will in the NFL, and for which the Colts didn't have the depth to sustain themselves.

Despite all that, they could still finish 8-8. And, yes, a lot of that is due to the fact the Cotls play in the AFC South, the bargain bin of NFL divisions. But, still.

Still, Pagano looks gone. And Grigson looks, well, not gone.

As Duke Tumato once sang: Lord, help our Colts.