Colts: Moore and Mudd may retire.

Having a healthy disdain for the Colts as a Jags fan... I find myself quite disturbed when it comes to some of the issues that Tom Moore and Howard Mudd are facing these days.  Furthermore, it seems that they may not be the only ones effected in the near future, as other teams have coaches that have been in the league coaching for as long, or almost as long, as they have.

Confusion and mistrust over changes in the league's pension program.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't mind seeing the high turnover in the coaching ranks on a team such as the Colts.  However, not like this.  It could bode well for us as Jags fans, but it could also turn out to be the bane of our existence.  Let's look at who would be the possible replacements for  both of these Legendary Coaches. 

Tom Moore could be replaced by current WR coach Clyde Christensen.  This could be a bumpy transition even though Christensen has been with the team since 2002.  I am not sure how good he would be at play calling, but he does know the ins and outs of the offense. 

How does this affect the play calling and Manning while under center? It is widely known that Peyton doesn't actually call the plays, but is given the concepts for the next play in which Peyton then audibles to make sure everyone is on the same page.  I personally don't see much change in this area, but then again, here's hoping against hope.

Howard Mudd is considered to be one of the best OL coaches in the game today.  He has been a visionary, and is a crafty old veteran of the sport. his coaching and playing resume spans 40 years.  Pete Metzelaars is currently the assistant OL coach, and it is presumed that he would take over this role.  Having been under the tutelege of one of the greatest coaches at this position has to have rubbed off. 

With aging vets on the OL, and young talent that was put into the mix last year, this could be the biggest question mark that the Colts have.  Besides the DL and LB corps of course. According to Big Blue Shoe at Stampede Blue, Metzelaars has been groomed to take over this postion as the replacement for Mudd for quite awhile now.

 http://www.stampedeblue.com/2009/5/7/868049/howard-mudd-files-retirement#comments

Jim Caldwell has had to replace two other coaches this year, but not by promoting them from within the teams coaching staff.  With the presumed promotions of Christensen and Metzelaars there will be continuity for the offense.  However, it still begs the question of whether or not Christensen will be as effective as Moore has been.  As of this time, Mudd is the only one of the two mentioned in this post who has filed retirement papers.  As reported by Chris Mortensen of ESPN, according to Larry Keenan, executive of the NFL Coaches Association...

Kennan confirmed that Mudd has "already filed his retirement papers" and added that he believes Moore is "just about there."

Hopefully, these two guys are not pushed out, but then again it would be nice to see how well the Colts perform with such a high turnover in the coaching staff.

-JagsCub