Chuck Pagano has become a point of inspiration for the 5-3 Indianapolis Colts, but he's still the team's coach. And they're planning for his return.
"The goal is to get Chuck on the field December 30th," interim coach Bruce Arians told SI's Peter King after Sunday's 23-20 win over the Miami Dolphins. "I don't know if it can happen, but that's the goal."
That's the Colts' final home game of the season -- an AFC South tilt against the Houston Texans.
Pagano's presence Sunday was marked by one of the great locker-room speeches of our day. The war cry in Indianapolis cascaded down from player to player before beating the Dolphins: "Chuck on three! 1-2-3, CHUCK!"
A team that was considered a sticky rebuilding project -- a Peyton Manning-less shell of its former self -- would serve as the AFC's top-seeded wild card if the season ended today.
"The whole story's for Spielberg," Arians told King. "I can't explain it. No one can. I just know this: I tell Chuck, 'You coach your ass off from the couch, and we'll handle the rest. Don't worry. The job's gonna get done.'Â "
So far, so good, in Indianapolis.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
