Colts decide not to keep Caldwell

Jim Caldwell endured everything thrown at him during his first two seasons as the Colts’ coach – replacing a friend, rebounding from losses and fighting through injuries.

Not having Peyton Manning around in 2011 was just too much.

Caldwell was fired Tuesday, a little more than two weeks after the end of the Colts’ worst season in two decades.

“This is obviously a big transitional time for us, but I know we’re excited moving forward and it’s hard when you say goodbyes to some people,” team owner Jim Irsay said. “But it’s part of the business.”

In Indianapolis, the last two weeks have hardly been business as usual.

The day after a season-ending loss at Jacksonville assured Indy of the No. 1 draft pick in April with a 2-14 mark, Irsay fired team vice chairman Bill Polian, the architect of the Colts’ success, and his son, Chris, the hand-picked general manager.

Irsay’s nine-day search for a replacement ended last Wednesday when he chose Ryan Grigson as Indy’s new GM.

Since then, Irsay and Grigson have met almost non-stop, debating what direction the team needed to go, whether staff changes would fix the problems or whether the team needed to bring in a new coach and possibly a whole new staff.

Things were so clouded Monday that Caldwell even met with former Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo about possibly becoming the Colts’ new defensive coordinator, and as late as Tuesday morning, the conventional wisdom was that Caldwell would stay.

Then things changed almost as suddenly as the Colts’ fortunes in 2011.

“We just came to the conclusion that this is best moving forward for the franchise,” Grigson said, referring to his first major decision in charge of an NFL team. “Mr. Irsay is the steward of this franchise and I’m here to help him wrap his head around these types of decisions.”

Caldwell ends his Colts tenure 26-22 overall with one AFC title, two division crowns and one bleak season that has left him unemployed just three years after replacing close friend Tony Dungy, the first black coach to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

Extra points

The Falcons hired former 49ers coach Mike Nolan as their defensive coordinator, hoping he can toughen up a unit that has rarely ranked among the NFL elite. … The Raiders have been given permission to interview Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg for their vacant coaching job. … Jeff Fisher was formally introduced as the new coach of the Rams.