INDIANAPOLIS – On the final Monday of his fifth season in Indianapolis, Chuck Pagano started down a hard reality he’s yet to encounter in his 79 games as an NFL head coach: His is a team that has nothing to play for Sunday.
At this juncture, the football hardly matters. It’s The Decision that does. The hope and optimism that encircled this team in July and August, gaining steam as Andrew Luck returned from injury, died on a sun-sprinkled Christmas Eve in Oakland, Calif. Pagano’s Colts were bounced from the playoffs with a week to play.