Baltimore personnel executive Eric DeCosta is staying put. Reggie McKenzie is off to join his friend and mentor, Ron Wolf, in Oakland. John Dorsey, director of college scouting for the Packers, didn't even want to interview.
Right or wrong, fair or unfair, this is creating the perception that no one wants the Colts general manager gig.
You can ask the very fair and reasonable question: What the hell is so appealing about a team like Oakland (no draft picks, aging quarterback, undisciplined football team) over Indianapolis (No. 1 overall pick, a.k.a., Andrew Luck)?
With McKenzie, it makes sense because he gets to go and work for his old boss again. Dorsey stayed in Green Bay because, with McKenzie now gone, he likely gets elevated within the organization. DeCosta has turned down many G.M. gigs before. He's paid well and has a good job in Baltimore without needing to be the target should they choke (again) in the playoffs. Ozzie Newsome is that, and Newsome's reputation is strong enough to deflect criticism.
Plus, let's just re-state the obvious here, former-Ravens executives like Phil Savage and George Kokinis were sort of exposed when they left Ozzie's friendly confines, and their careers haven't recovered. DeCosta probably doesn't want to repeat that.
What's interesting is that with these candidates, and with other people linked to the Colts G.M. job such as Marc Ross of the Giants and Ryan Grigson of the Eagles, is that they all work in organizations where the defenses are built to create pressure via the blitz. We aren't seeing many 'Cover-2' G.M.s getting listed.
This might give us some insight in the kind of "vision" Irsay is looking for from his new top football exec.
I'm especially interested in both Ross and Grigson, at this point. Other candidate names bouncing around are Scouting Combine director Jeff Foster and Tom Gamble, director of player personnel for Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers.
Again, the trend here, for the most part, is candidates from teaming running blitz-based pressure defenses. DeCosta, Ross, and Grigson all come from organizations that run base 4-3 blitz schemes. Green Bay and San Francisco are 3-4 blitz.
Les Snead, director of player personnel, and David Caldwell, director of college scouting, both work for the Falcons. They are the only candidates I've seen coming from an organization that runs base Cover-2. Caldwell (no relation to Jim) spent 12 years with the Colts prior to his current Atlanta gig.
Now, for me, I find all this interesting because with the defensive personnel Indianapolis could have in 2012, a 4-3 blitz defense is certainly possible. Guys like Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner can bring heat from the linebacker spot. So can Philip Wheeler, if he's re-signed. A key competent of this kind of defense, and of any kind of pressure defense, is having corners who don't suck.
"Zone corner" is an NFL euphemism for "corner who can't cover one-on-one."
If Indy transitions to a blitzing defense, and based on the G.M. candidates they are talking to they might just do that, significant upgrades in the secondary would become priority in round two-seven in the draft.
Also, should they go this route, it would be a sad, bitter twist of irony for former-defensive coordinator Larry Coyer. Blitz-based defense is was he is good at, but the front office never allowed him to implement his schemes fully and completely.