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Chuck Pagano's tenure with the Colts has been a confusing one to figure out for many Colts fans. On the one hand, he's flat out winning football games, compiling a 33-15 record over his first three years and taking the Colts to the playoffs each year (going one round further each year). On the other hand, he's shown that he's not the best in-game coach and still has weaknesses that give many a cause for concern - in addition to some really bad losses the team suffers.
That's why ranking Pagano in terms of the best coaches in the league is a hard task, but it's one that CBS Sports' Pete Prisco undertook. He ranked all 32 NFL head coaches from best to worst, and he had Chuck Pagano sneaking into the top ten at number ten:
10. Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts -- In three seasons with the Colts, he is 33-15, although he missed 12 games his first season as he battled leukemia. The Colts have been to the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, and in 2014 they advanced to the AFC Championship Game. This is a coach who has his team making progress -- which is always a good sign.
For the most part, I think this is a pretty fair ranking for Pagano. He's not going to be the best coach in the NFL but the results on the field are ultimately what a head coach should be judged by, and those results have been hard to argue with overall over his three years with the team - with the next step being leading his team to the Super Bowl.
There are a few question marks, however. Does anyone really think that Bruce Arians (8th on Prisco's list) and Pagano (10th) are really that close in terms of how good of coaches they are? I sure don't. And I'm also not sure there are many who would put Pagano ahead of Chip Kelly like Prisco did (he had Kelly 12th).
Chuck Pagano is a guy who will frustrate you with some of his decisions and may never have the league's best defense or be the league's best coach, but when paired with a quarterback like Andrew Luck, Pagano is a guy that can lead you to win football games and hopefully a Super Bowl. And because of that, the tenth spot on this list is probably close to accurate as to where he actually ranks among his coaching peers.