We're back with another in our series of Gillette "No debate" posts today asking, "Who is the most dominant player both on and the field and in EA Sports' Madden 13?" You can vote over on their Facebook page.
Because, in all likelihood, no one really cares who is the most dominant player on the field and in Madden 13 (seriously, we're in the playoffs, and THIS is the "debate" question?) we'll spend time in this article talking about how the Colts front office could change now that Tom Telesco has taken the general manager job in San Diego.
I mean, unless you WANT to debate who is the most dominant player both on and the field and in EA Sports' Madden 13, because if you do, go here. The rest of us will hang here and talk Colts sh*t.
Telesco has been part of the Colts organization since 1998. He is, literally, the last bastion of the Bill Polian era. He owes his career to ole Bill, and, unlike Bill's son Chris (who was the one-time GM of the Colts), he is probably the best of the next generation front office execs that have graduated from Colts U.
Tom Gamble, David Caldwell, and Tom Telesco. All worked as scouts or front office execs for the Colts at one point during the Polian Era. Caldwell is now the GM in Jacksonville. Gamble is the Director of Player Personnel in San Francisco, and is likely to get a GM job in the near future. Telseco is the head man in SD. All were passed over in Indianapolis in favor of Chris Polian, who is close friends with Telesco and Caldwell. They went to college together.
I could go into a long and boring breakdown of why Chris got a GM job he clearly wasn't ready for over more capable men like Telesco, but we've been there. Done that. Nepotism and cronyism were the downfall of the Polians in Indianapolis. There is little love lost between Indy and the Polians. Irsay said no thanks yous for Chris Polian last year this time, when he fired Chris. The Polians don't seem to have warm feelings for Ryan Grigson either. He fired Dennis Polian over the phone early in 2012. Dennis, the team's cap specialist, was retained after Bill and Chris were let go. It's assumed by many who cover the league that Dennis might have been feeding info to a rival team. Dennis now works for the Titans.
Despite all the insanity seemingly inbred in the Polians, one mad who displayed grace and calm during the madness was Telesco. In the year following the De-Polianization in Indianapolis, Telesco was a vital lieutenant for Grigson.
The question now is, who replaces Telesco?
The easy answer is T.J. McCreight, the Colts Director of College Scouting. McCreight was brought over from the Cardinals last year by, presumably, Grigson. Now, it's important to note that McCreight was hired on May 4th, 2012. That's AFTER the 2012 NFL Draft, which means he had ZERO input in the Colts spectacular 2012 draft class. Much of the heavy lifting for that draft was done by Telesco. Thus, if McCreight is elevated to the role of Vice President of Football Operations (Telesco's old title), it wasn't because of any work he did for the '12 draft. McCreight was Director of Player Personnel in Arizona, and before that had stints in front offices in Cleveland and Baltimore, suggesting some sort of connection with Colts head coach Chuck Pagano.
Another person to consider is Kevin Rogers, Associate Director of Pro Personnel. Rogers is a former pro scout for the Colts.
Other people to keep an eye on are Eagles execs Anthony Patch and Louis Riddick. Patch is Philly's Director of College Scouting while Riddick is Director of Player Personnel. Both worked with Grigson in Philly.
Regardless of who does or doesn't replace Telesco, the 2013 NFL Draft and free agent class will all be on Ryan Grigson. If he hits home runs in both, Grigson will be viewed as a top tier GM. If he flops, people will wonder if the team's 2012 success was more a product of Telesco than Grigson.