Rob Chudzinski is staying in Indianapolis.
The Colts announced Thursday that Chudzinski will remain the offensive coordinator going forward after assuming the reigns from a fired Pep Hamilton in early November.
Whereas reports surfaced that Hamilton was foisted upon Chuck Pagano after Bruce Arians left for Arizona in 2013, Chudzinski has a close relationship with the Colts head coach going back to their time together at the University of Miami in the late 1990s.
Chudzinski took public criticism from No. 1 receiver T.Y. Hilton late in the season for not throwing deep enough to the speedy young wide receiver corps.
In the play-caller's defense, the Colts' quarterbacks were a 40-year-old battling a litany of injuries (Matt Hasselbeck), a hamstrung career backup claimed off waivers a month earlier (Charlie Whitehurst) and, ultimately, two emergency passers signed off the street (Josh Freeman and Ryan Lindley).
Considering the deck stacked against him, Chudzinski did well to close out the season with back-to-back victories.
Pagano was most impressed, however, with Andrew Luck's performance in knocking off the then-undefeated Broncos in Chudzinski's first game pulling the strings.
"(We) make a change and go beat an undefeated Denver team with our starting quarterback," Pagano said this week, via the Indianapolis Star. "I think everybody saw a glimpse of what could be the vision we all had and where this team could go."
Now that Chudzinski's job is safe, the question is whether general manager Ryan Grigson overhauls the offense for the second offseason in a row.
Owner Jim Irsay strongly suggested in Monday night's press conference that Grigson and Pagano are about to undergo a youth movement after signing declining veterans such as Frank Gore, Andre Johnson and Todd Herremans last offseason.
Herremans is already gone, and the Gore-Johnson tandem is no lock to stick around for a second season in Indy.
If Chudzinski is going to bring out Luck's full potential, he needs Grigson to finally solidify the offensive line, find a talented young featured back and re-sign one or both of impending free agent tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener.
