The Colts have fired 57-year old head coach Jim Caldwell.  This shouldn’t come as too much of a shock based on how poorly the Colts played in 2011.  The Colts were 2-14 on the season.  In Caldwell’s defense, he didn’t have Peyton Manning in 2011 due to a neck injury.  The Colts averaged only 15.2 points per game last year while giving up 26.9 points per game.  They often looked ill prepared, especially offensively.  Caldwell was the Colts’ head coach for three years and he compiled a 26-22 record (54.2%) during the regular season and he was 2-2 during the post-season.  The Colts will certainly be able to find a better coach than Jim Caldwell for 2012 and beyond.

The Colts have claimed 26-year old LB Zac Diles off waivers from the Buccaneers.  Diles played in 7 games for the Bucs earlier this year and he could only muster 1 tackle.  Diles has now played in 57 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 244 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  The Colts waived 23-year old rookie TE Mike McNeill to make room on the roster for Diles.  He played in 4 games for the Colts this year but he didn’t catch any passes.

The Indianapolis Colts have fired defensive coordinator Larry Coyer.  He will be replaced by linebackers’ coach Mike Murphy for the rest of this year.  Coyer deserved what he got as the Colts were giving up 29.7 points per game.  The Colts are also giving up 150.6 yards rushing per game (4.2 ypc) and 238.7 yards passing per game so far this year.  This is likely just the first shoe to drop on the Colts’ coaching staff this off-season.

The Colts have waived 23-year old linebacker Adrian Moten.  Moten played in 10 games for the Colts this year and he had 7 tackles.  He was an undrafted rookie out of Maryland.  This says a lot about Moten as the Colts have one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL.  Moten might have hard time hooking on with another team because of that.

The Indianapolis Colts have claimed 24-year old rookie DE Mario Addison off waivers from the Bears.  He played in 4 games for the Bears this year but he didn’t have any tackles or other stats.  The Colts have released 23-year old rookie RB Darren Evans to make room on the roster for Addison.  Evans played in 2 games for the Colts this year, but he didn’t get to touch the ball.

The Colts have waived 28-year old DT Daniel Muir.  Muir played in 4 games for the Colts last year and he had 11 tackles.  He played in 40 games in his four years with the Colts and he had 104 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 1/2 a sack and 1 pass defensed.  This is a surprising move when you consider that the Colts are giving up 146.1 yards rushing per game this year.

The Colts have waived 27-year old cornerback Justin Tyron.  Tyron played in 3 games for the Colts this year and he had 7 tackles.  Tyron played in 15 games in his two years with the Colts and he had 51 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 7 passes defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  The Colts need more production out of the corners and that’s why Justin Tyron is looking for a new job.

The Colts have claimed 25-year old OG Seth Olsen off waivers from the Vikings and they have waived 26-year old G/C Jamey Richard.  Olsen’s entire NFL experience came with the Broncos in 2009 when he played in 3 games (0 starts).  Richard didn’t play in the season opener against the Texans last week.  He played in 39 games (11 starts) in his first four years with the Colts.  This is a case of the Colts grasping at straws to try to improve the offensive line.

The Colts have released 24-year old DT Ricardo Mathews.  Mathews played in 8 games for the Colts as a rookie last year and he had 1 whopping tackle.  This is going to be no loss for the Colts.  Some team might give Mathews a look in 2011, but he showed next to nothing as a rookie for the Colts in 2010.

The Colts have waived 24-year old QB Nate Davis.  Davis played in the pre-season opener against the Rams and he completed 3 of 7 passes (42.9%) for 36 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (59.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for 0 yards in that game.  The Colts have decided to move forward with Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky behind Peyton Manning.  The Colts won’t miss Davis as he isn’t likely to turn into a decent NFL QB any time soon.