Colts players will remember Chuck Pagano fondly

INDIANAPOLIS – Anthony Castonzo played for Chuck Pagano for each of the Indianapolis Colts coach’s six seasons at the helm in Indianapolis.

That’s a span of 96 games, 384 quarters and countless snaps. It covers 53 wins and 43 losses in the regular season. Highs. Lows. The whole gamut.

But if you ask Castonzo, the Colts’ veteran left tackle, to pinpoint the most memorable moment of his time with Pagano, he immediately seizes on a 2012 victory over the Buffalo Bills in which Pagano made his return to Lucas Oil Stadium near the end of his battle with leukemia.

It was the perfect combination of all things Pagano. The Colts won a football game that day, but they drew their motivation from their coach. The love flowed back and forth that day, particularly when Pagano joined the team in the locker room for the post-game celebration. It was a day that will forever be burned into Castonzo’s memory.

“There were so many emotions in that locker room,” he said. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And I know I probably won’t ever see anything like that again.”

The reaction to Pagano’s expected dismissal after Sunday’s season finale – he had not been released when players gave post-game interviews – was what you should have expected. Their recollections weren’t about how far the Colts advanced in the postseason in any given year or where they ranked statistically in various categories.

It was about shared moments with Pagano, the man – not Pagano, the coach. It was always his greatest talent, his ability to reach men, to make a connection with them.

That’s what made Pagano different than most coaches, even if he had shortcomings -- like game management -- that made his continued employment unsustainable.

“We always fight for him,” said receiver T.Y. Hilton, another player who’s been with Pagano since the beginning. “He’s a players’ coach and you dream of having a coach like that. He’s special.”

When you’ve played football for as many years as Castonzo, who grew up playing the game, you’ve had your share of coaches. And yet, Pagano set himself apart from any coach for whom Castonzo has played.

During Pagano’s post-game speech Sunday, Castonzo and most players realized from the tone the end was near. It sent Castonzo’s mind racing.

“It kind of made me think of him and what he’s meant to the team,” Castonzo said. “I think back to all my coaches I’ve had since high school and how much he cares about the guys in this locker room. And genuinely, not just faking it. He actually cares. I think it’s pretty impressive for a guy in his position, where he could very easily not.

“He’s been a great coach and I’ve really enjoyed playing for him.”

Pagano’s nature can be easily noticed even for players who lacked a years-long history with him. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett recalled on Sunday a story he’s often told in which Pagano emphasized his support of him even after he threw an interception in his first start that sealed an overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals in September.

It had been a whirlwind for the second-year quarterback, who was traded to Indianapolis a mere week before the start of the regular season.

“Through all the crazy things I was kind of going through at the time, with the trade and trying to remember everybody’s name, when he told me he had my back,” Brissett said, “that kept me and got me through the hard days. … Hearing those words, I knew I had someone who had my back. And those words (I) will forever associate (with) him.”

Of Pagano’s firing, Brissett added, “You don’t want to hear that about somebody that I personally look up to or somebody that I know I would run through a wall for. That’s what made everybody in this locker room come to work and come to play how we play… That’s a real man there.”

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