A flurry of phone calls, including one with Vinatieri's new agent, Gary Uberstine, confirmed the surprising development: Vinatieri, the New England Patriots' Super Bowl hero and all-time leading scorer, was shopping his services.
``When the Colts called, I told my agent, `Let's not screw around,' " said Vinatieri, in his first extensive comments regarding his departure from New England. ``I told him, `If Indy is interested, let's get this done.' "
Within a matter of days, Vinatieri, who nailed 20 game-winning kicks during his tenure with the Patriots, including a 48-yard field goal with no time left to beat St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI and a 41-yard field goal with four seconds to go to beat Carolina in Super Bowl XXXVIII, had switched uniforms, leaving New England scrambling for a kicker and the Colts replacing the most accurate foot in the NFL (Mike Vanderjagt) with the most clutch foot in the game (Vinatieri).
At a press conference March 23 introducing him to the Colts media, Vinatieri did not offer particulars of how he landed in Indy. Earlier this week here at the Rose-Hulman Institute, where the Colts train, Vinatieri confirmed he did not give the Patriots the chance to match Indianapolis's offer, and explained how he came to leave the only franchise he had ever played for.
``Everybody knows I had a great run in New England," Vinatieri said. ``I enjoyed my experience there, but this is a business.
``The Patriots clearly expressed to me that it was a business by the decisions they made. So I had to examine my options."
Vinatieri said he became concerned about his long-term future in New England as far back as the end of 2004, a year in which he nailed 93.9 percent of his field goals (31 of 33) and 100 percent of his PATs (48 for 48) in the regular season, then was a perfect 5 for 5 in field goals and 10 for 10 in PATs in the playoffs.
``I saw it coming," Vinatieri said. ``I had a real nice season [in 2004], but the negotiations for a new contract were not going the way we thought they would. I don't know . . . I told my agent [Jonathan Hurst], `I don't need to know the day-to-day details. Call me if they offer me something decent.' They ended up franchising me.
