What does Rob Chudzinski do for the Colts?

One story that we have paid attention to this offseason was that of Rob Chudzinksi.  As a special assistant to the head coach for the Colts in 2014, he was sought after by some teams for their offensive coordinator openings.  The Colts denied those interview requests, however, and instead promoted him to associate head coach.

While Chud has a new job title, what does he really do?  What is his role with the Colts?  It's something that we haven't really been able to figure out over the past year, so in an interview with Colts.com on Thursday, head coach Chuck Pagano was asked about what Rob Chudzinski's job entails.

"He's a great coach, he's a great person, he's got a great football mind," Pagano said.  "He's been a head coach in this league.  He's a great resource, as we mentioned time and time again.  He knows this game inside and out.  He knows personnel.  There are no facets of the operation, of the game, that he really doesn't have a handle on.  He's a huge resource for myself in year one and a huge resource for the entire coaching staff.

"He's kind of our 007, secret agent," Pagano added.  "We've given him another title, which is great and it's well deserved, and I know he was coveted - he's got a great reputation in this league, and well deserved because he's a really good football coach and a great football mind and a great person and I feel very fortunate that we were able to keep him for another season."

Put simply, we still don't know much of what Chudzinski does for the Colts, but Pagano said that he's involved in all facets of the team and really emphasized that "he's a great resource."  It's safe to say that his role, then, is largely as a help to the rest of the coaching staff.  Last season, defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and his staff utilized Chud's knowledge of offensive systems to gameplan for upcoming opponents, and Chud had a role in working with the Colts' offense as well.  He helped Chuck Pagano with certain game day operations and was a sounding board for the head coach.  It's unclear whether the promotion to associate head coach will really bring with it added job responsibilities, but throughout the league it's not uncommon for the associate/assistant head coach to be handed responsibilities from the head coach and then speak with the head coach's authority on that matter to the rest of the staff so that the head coach doesn't have to focus on that matter.

Will that be Chudzinski's role?  Will it change much from last year to this year with the new job title?  We don't really know, but Chuck Pagnao is certainly filled with a lot of praise for the associate head coach and said that, in addition to being a great resource, Chud is involved in all areas.  And there's no question that the Colts are happy to keep him around for another year.