Indianapolis Colts Hire Rob Chudzinski as Special Assistant
By Mathew Muncy
Dec 22, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Rob Chudzinski during the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The Indianapolis Colts may have found a way to get more out of Trent Richardson by hiring his previous coach. The Colts announced they hired Rob Chudzinski as the special assistant to the head coach.
Chudzinski was fired six weeks ago after going 4-12 in his first season as head coach for the Cleveland Browns. Despite Chudzinski’s head coaching debacle, he’s a proven offensive guru who could help Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton figure out how to effectively use Richardson and increase the team’s offensive efficiency.
In 2007, Chudzinski was the Browns’ offensive coordinator when they had the league’s eighth best offense, finished second in the AFC North and sent four offensive players to the Pro Bowl. He then helped rookie Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to the league’s fourth best offense and Newton earned Rookie of the Year, all in 2011.
The one striking statistic is Chudzinski’s offenses tend to regress during his second season as a team’s offensive coordinator. In 2008 the Browns wound up 30th and in 2012 the Panthers fell to 18th.
This isn’t Chudzinski’s first rodeo with Colts head coach Chuck Pagano either. They met each other at the University of Miami in 1986 when Chudzinski was a player and Pagano was a graduate assistant. Then from 1995-2000, Pagano served as the Hurricanes’ defensive backs and linebackers coach while Chudzinski was a graduate assistant and then tight ends coach. They met up in the NFL in 2004 with the Cleveland Browns where Chudzinski was tight ends coach and Pagano was the secondary coach.
While adding Chudzinski is just a blip on the radar now, don’t be surprised to see Pagano boot Hamilton in favor of Chudzinski if the Colts offense continues to struggle next season.
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