Burning question: what’s next in Indianapolis?

Andrew_LuckIt’s safe to assume that the Indianapolis Colts will be drafting Andrew Luck with the first overall pick of the 2012 draft. That much is almost a certainty. Yes, there are a few people that seriously believe Robert Griffin III is the better pick, but those people do not seem to reside in Indianapolis. The question moving forward following the draft is, now what?

Since 1998, Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts have become nearly synonymous terms. Lucas Oil Stadium may not exist today had the Colts drafted Ryan Leaf instead of Peyton Manning. For Colts fans, it’s hard to let go of one of the greatest runs any team has every went on in the history of the league, but it is finally becoming increasingly clear that the Manning era in Indy is over.

Andrew Luck represents the future for the Colts. He’s possibly the highest rated quarterback prospect since Manning back in ’98, and the franchise will be looking to him to continue the winning tradition started by Peyton. Everything beyond drafting Luck is up in the air. 

The biggest immediate problem with the Colts is that their age and top dollar talent have finally caught up with the franchise. There’s a handful of key players that are likely on their way out of town including Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garçon, Jeff Saturday, and Robert Mathis. There’s been talk that Saturday, the Colts long-time center, may call it a career once it’s official that Manning won’t be returning. Reggie Wayne is almost certainly leaving in free agency.

Mathis and Garçon, however, may not be out the door just yet. It’s very possible that the Colts will use their franchise tag on one of those two guys. Considering that the Colts now have a defensive minded head coach in place, don’t be surprised if the Colts decide to hang on to Robert Mathis for one more season. The Colts are going to need all the help they can get on both sides of the ball, and I think Mathis provides more impact on the defense than Garçon does on the offense.

Following free agency, it becomes all about the draft for the Colts. They have a complete team to piece together, and it won’t happen over the course of a few weeks. Frankly, the Bill Polian era couldn’t have ended much worse. By trying to milk one more Super Bowl run out of Manning’s Hall of Fame career, the Colts compromised their future following an imminent collapse. I don’t think anyone saw the Colts falling as fast as they did, but it was becoming clear the Colts were on a slippery slope long before Peyton Manning’s neck injury.

The Colts are starting over, plain and simple. They’ve overhauled pretty much everyone on the coaching staff, and their front office is under new leadership. The end of the demolition isn’t here just yet, however. Next up, Ryan Grigson will begin the process of determining who can help the franchise return to prominence and who they need to let go. Change has been in the air for some time in Indianapolis, and that’s not changing anytime soon.

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About Shane Clemons

Shane Clemons came from humble beginnings creating his own Jaguars blog before moving on to SBNation as a featured writer for the Jaguars. He then moved to Bloguin where he briefly covered the AFC South before taking over Bloguin's Jaguars blog. Since the inception of This Given Sunday, Shane has served as an editor for the site, doing his best not to mess up a good thing.

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