FanHouse RonMeeks

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

For most franchises, 12 wins is a banner year; one they can hang their proverbial hats upon. For the Colts, 12 wins is a certainly. They have won at least 12 games in each of the last six seasons. They have also had Tony Dungy as their head coach for the past seven years, but now he's gone. In 2009, the Colts will look for some continuity. Can it be provided by the Jim Caldwell administration?

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
Team under Peyton's leadership for the first time without Tom Moore*. That's right. Peyton's only offensive coordinator for his entire 11-year career has been the venerable Moore. Moore's first year at the helm was Manning's rookie season, so the two grew together. It's going to be interesting to see how Manning fares without his mentor calling the shots.

Of course, Manning's obviously cerebral enough to deal quite well with the transition, and the Colts have enough weapons in their arsenal to remain the high-octane offense we're used to seeing every fall.

---

---

Though many of the players from the perennially playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts are still around, it's a new era in Colts camp these days. The turnover on the coaching staff has been vast, especially for a team who has seemingly gone 12-4 in their sleep for all of recent memory -- and it goes all the way to the top. With a new head coach and two new coordinators, the players have some adjusting to do.

On the defensive side of the ball, former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders appears to believe in his new defensive boss, former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.

The Indianapolis Colts are one of the premier franchises in the NFL at the present. Since 1999, they've made the playoffs and won 10 games in all but one season. They've won at least 12 games in the past six. They've had offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd in place during that entire timespan. Tony Dungy was the head coach for the past seven. All three have now departed.

Their replacements are Jim Caldwell (head coach), Clyde Christensen (offensive coordinator) and Pete Metzelaars (offensive line coach). Translation: The Colts just drastically downgraded at three very important coaching positions.

Rumors started swirling last Wednesday. NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported that Marvin Harrison's days were numbered in Indianapolis. Then, on Sunday, Harrison asked to be released after refusing to take a pay cut. The Colts were apparently for his release, before they were against it, before they were for it again.

Shorter, clearer version: Indy officially cut Harrison Tuesday afternoon. Hardly surprising given the buildup, but it's another big change in an offseason full of them for the Colts. Head coach Tony Dungy retired, defensive coordinator Ron Meeks was fired and now Harrison, the team's 1996 first-round pick and eight-time Pro Bowler, is no longer with the organization. Team president Bill Polian sounded the right tone in announcing the move:

Ron Meeks, who recently resigned from the Indianapolis Colts, has been hired by the Carolina Panthers to fill the role of defensive coordinator. Meeks left the Colts under what can best be described as "heavy scrutiny" recently.

He steps into a role vacated by Mike Trgovac.

It's an odd situation because as the Panthers appeared ready to gut their entire defensive staff all at the behest of Julius Peppers, they offered Trgovac a two year extension, which he subsequently spurned to pursue better offers.

Ron Meeks has served as the Colts' defensive coordinator since 2002. Despite having a largely inconsistent defense -- especially run defense -- over most of that time, he's still been held in quite a high esteem when it came to getting sniffs for potential head coaching positions. In fact, the Jets, for one, were interested earlier this year.

Under rampant speculation, and a report from ProFootballTalk, that Meeks was about to be fired from his post by newly appointed head coach, Jim Caldwell, Meeks stepped down Tuesday.

The Washington Redskins' search for a new head coach is now down to former Giants coach Jim Fassel, former 49ers and Lions coach Steve Mariucci and Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting.

The coach who some observers thought was emerging from sleeper to front-runner, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, will remain in New York.

So who's the front-runner now? It appears to be Fassel, pictured above embracing Mariucci after Fassel's Giants lost to Mariucci's 49ers in January of 2003. Fassel had a solid run as the Giants' head coach, and it's somewhat surprising that he never got a second chance as a head coach.

Some published reports have said that Mariucci is out of the running, but the Redskins have said that's not the case. Meeks is a longtime assistant with a good track record, although Redskins owner Dan Snyder is thought to prefer someone with head-coaching experience.

Redskins fans continue to be understandably flummoxed. The team has been head-coachless for almost a month and with each passing day, the search becomes more bizarre. Which is saying something with owner Dan Snyder pulling the strings.

Anyway, Snyder and Vinny Cerrato have already jettisoned team favorite Gregg Williams, and USC coach Pete Carroll said he wasn't interested. Some people believe Jim Fassel is the favorite, and apparently, the Redskins won't make a final decision until after the Super Bowl. Word on the street has Snyder interested in Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

In the meantime, Snyder is seemingly interviewing every available head-coaching candidate in the league. Next up: Ron Meeks, Colts defensive coordinator. Like Fassel, Meeks is a supposed front-runner for the job, but we've heard similar rumors about Williams. And there's also another name to add to the never-ending list of potential candidates: Steve Mariucci.

I still think that the Redskins would be best served by Snyder pulling a Ted Turner and just coaching the team himself.

When it comes to coaching vacancies, this off-season has been a buyer's market. Assistants Josh McDaniels and Jason Garrett turned down opportunities for head-coaching gigs, and Kirk Ferentz opted to stay at Iowa instead of pursuing NFL jobs.

But as FOX Sports' Jay Glazer writes, next year will be a completely different story.

While there were only four opening this off-season, a year from now, there could more than a dozen. Glazer lists the Seahawks, Eagles, Bengals, Vikings, Panthers, Cowboys, Chiefs. Colts, Lions, Rams and 49ers as teams who could be looking for new head coaches for the 2009 season.

The Seahawks, Colts and Cowboys are in the process of lining up successors -- word on the street has Jim Mora, Jim Caldwell and Jason Garrett all set to replace incumbents, if not next year, eventually -- but the other nine teams will be looking outside their organizations for the next head coach.

Glazer points out that Browns' offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski could be next year's Garrett, and there's no doubt McDaniels will still top many owners' lists next spring.

Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who is as deserving of a head-coaching opportunity as any assistant in the league, could finally get his shot. And while Gregg Williams probably isn't all that excited about losing out on the 'Skins job, he'll certainly get some interviews too. Other names that we'll certainly be hearing from: Tennessee's Jim Schwartz, Indy's Ron Meeks, and San Francisco's Mike Singletary.