“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’’- Luke 14:11
INDIANAPOLIS - Jim Caldwell has never been one to glorify himself.
The message of Luke 14:11, which Caldwell often recites to keep himself grounded, was ingrained in the 54-year-old rookie coach of the Indianapolis Colts while he was growing up in Beloit, Wis. His parents, coaches, and teachers instilled in him the humility that, Caldwell says, “kept me on the right path.’’
Caldwell is off to an impressive 8-0 start as Tony Dungy’s successor in Year 1 A.D. (After Dungy). A disciple of Dungy, having served as an assistant under him one year in Tampa Bay (2001) and seven in Indianapolis as Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach, Caldwell assumed the reins Jan. 13, almost a year after Colts owner Jim Irsay designated him as the team’s head coach-in-waiting.
“It was about the fit,’’ says Irsay, explaining the decision he and team president Bill Polian reached, along with Dungy, to go with Caldwell. “You can go outside the organization, but it can be hard to find a guy who can have the humility and set aside the ego aspect of the job.
“As I always say, it’s amazing what you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. So you can go out and bring in the right guy, but in this case, when Bill and I had long talks about it, we felt like we had the right fit.
“It wasn’t a convenient hire, it was that this guy was the right guy.’’
Now, Caldwell stands on history’s threshold. Tied with Potsy Clark, who in 1931 won his first eight games with Portsmouth, Caldwell can become the first coach in NFL history to win his first nine games if he can guide the Colts over the Patriots in tonight’s AFC matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I’m very pleased about that,’’ says Dungy, who established a culture of winning in his seven seasons with the Colts, compiling 85 regular-season victories and a 7-6 playoff mark, including a triumph in Super Bowl XLI. “When you know you’re going to step down - and in our situation it was pretty much going to be at the time I wanted - you want to see the next person have a chance to succeed.
“You do want to see it continue when you go, so to see them continue on and play the way they’re playing - in fact, it’s the best I’ve seen them play, other than ’05 - I am happy about that and I am happy for Jim.’’
Seamless transition
Predictably, Caldwell downplays his role in the Colts’ start.
“It’s a team-oriented game,’’ Caldwell says. “This doesn’t have a whole lot to do with my efforts and my work and those kinds of things. It’s a part of it, but it’s not exclusive.
