Indianapolis scapegoating Pep Hamilton won't turn things around

Coming off yet another sloppy offensive performance in a loss to the Carolina Panthers on Monday, the Indianapolis Colts made the predictable decision to scapegoat offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton.

The team's coordinator of the past two-plus seasons, Hamilton led Indianapolis to top-six rankings in total yards and points score last year. That success led to speculation that Hamilton might be in line for a head coaching job at some point soon. 

Less than 10 months after interviewing for previously vacant head coaching jobs in Buffalo and Oakland, Hamilton is out of a job. He was fired by head coach Chuck Pagano on Tuesday: 

“Through the first eight weeks of the season, we have felt our offense hasn’t performed at the consistent level that we need. Because of this we’ve decided to go in a different direction and relieve Pep Hamilton of his duties as offensive coordinator," Pagano said in announcing the firing, via the Colts official website. "As head coach of this team, it’s my responsibility to make sure I’m doing everything we can to put us in the best position to succeed. We thank Pep for his service to the team and wish him all the best.”

On the hot seat himself after a 3-5 start, Pagano is attempting to lay the blame on one of his subordinates here. And while the Colts play-calling has been mediocre in and of itself, there's a larger issue here. 
Despite missing two games with a shoulder injury, quarterback Andrew Luck leads the league with 13 turnovers. The Colts offense has committed a league-high 30 penalties in seven games. Meanwhile, Pagano's coaching and game management has been absolutely atrocious all season long. 

Promoting Rob Chudzinski to the coordinator position might help fix some of the play-calling issues, but it won't magically fix Luck. It most definitely won't have an impact on the complete lack of attention to detail this team has played with during its 3-5 start to the season. As the head coach, that's on Pagano.

Taking on the undefeated Denver Broncos on Sunday, there is a decent chance Indianapolis could head into its Week 10 bye with a 3-6 record and outside of first place in the AFC South. 

If that happens, Pagano might actually find himself out of a job when Monday comes calling. Scapegoating Hamilton won't change this.

By moving on from his offensive coordinator this week, Pagano pretty much admitted that could be a real possibility.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the situation plays out here as the Colts prepare for a must-win game against one of the league's best teams.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL.