TORONTO - 

Who knew that Peyton Manning’s pain in the neck was contagious? It’s turned into an injury that took down the big players in the Indianapolis Colts’ front office.

It’s been hardly a secret for the past decade that Manning’s brilliance as a quarterback was central to the Colts’ steady string of successes, including a Super Bowl title.

Nobody realized, though, how quickly the house of cards constructed by vice-chairman Bill Polian and his son Chris, the club GM, would fall apart without Manning. Both were dismissed Monday.

“It’s a new era,” said owner Jim Irsay during a late-afternoon press conference.

“We’re moving into exciting times by my estimation. The search for a GM begins immediately. We have not talked to any teams or potential GMs yet. This is not like ’97 where we replaced the GM in matter of hours. It will be a matter of time, possibly a couple of weeks.”

After a season without Manning, who has had three neck surgeries in the last year, produced two victories and a chance at the Next Big Thing — Andrew Luck — Irsay came to the conclusion that maybe it was time for some new blood in the Colts’ executive suite.

“It was time,” said Irsay. “It was the right decision to make. Fourteen years is a long time in this league. It’s an intuitive decision. A lot goes into it.”

And, once Irsay gets rolling on this franchise renewal process, the broom could get even broader. He said Monday that head coach Jim Caldwell’s status is still under review.

So, less than 24 hours after the Colts put the capper on a 2-14 season with a loss in Jacksonville, Irsay sent the Polians packing, with the potential for vets like Reggie Wayne, Jeff Saturday, Ryan Diem and Robert Mathis, (all free agents) to follow in the not-too-distant future.

You might even be able to add Manning’s name to that list. The Colts have to decide whether to pick up Manning’s $28-million option in March and if this turns into a total rebuild, then what would Irsay want with a 36-year-old superstar quarterback with health concerns?

That becomes especially problematic if he has Luck waiting in the wings to be the centrepiece of the next generation of Colt excellence.

As far as Bill Polian is concerned, he was the architect of many moves in the late ’90s and into the new century that created the framework around which Manning could work his magic. His hiring of Tony Dungy was a coup, along with the trading of Marshall Faulk and the subsequent draft of Edgerrin James. The Colts won at least 10 games in every season but one from 1999 through 2010.

Unfortunately, the last five Indianapolis drafts have not produced many impact players as the core of the team got older. Still, Polian can be proud of his record that has earned him NFL Executive of the Year honours six times.

He built Super Bowl teams in both Buffalo and Indianapiolis, with a stop in Carolina in between where he constructed a team that went to the NFC title game.

The Colts were a broken franchise when Polian arrived in 1997 but he ended up with the No. 1 draft pick that he used to select Manning, an immediate star, over Ryan Leaf, a massive bust.

It is difficult to predict how the Manning/Luck situation is going to play out. If Irsay, or his new GM, is able to confidently judge that Manning is going to be able to stand the rigors of regular NFL play again, then there is no reason why Luck couldn’t take a backup role for a season or two before growing into the role as Manning fades into the sunset.

Manning has suggested that he could work with a young quarterback.

“I think I can co-exist with any player I’ve ever played with,” Manning told reporters on Sunday. “I think I’ve always been a good teammate in that way.”

The elephant in the room is not so much Luck but the $28 million that must be paid to Manning early in March as part of his contract. There has been talk of a renegotiation — but not by Manning.

The alternative would be to cut Manning but it would be a very sad way to part company with somebody who was, and remains, an Indianapolis icon.

The futures of Wayne, Saturday and Mathis, as well as several other high-priced veterans, probably rest with Manning.

If he is back and ready to play, then the expectation will be there to contend. But if he’s not in the picture, then many of those veterans will not be there, either, as the rebuild begins.

The Indianapolis Colts finished their dismal 2011 season the same way that they began it, which was by losing to a division rival on the road. Thanks to all that happened in between the opening loss to the Houston Texans and the closing loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, though, the two games had a distinctively different feel. By the time the Colts took the field in Florida on January 1, fans had long since lost all hopes of Peyton Manning’s return this season, another playoff appearance or virtually anything else positive. In fact, for the first time that I can remember, I found myself rooting hard for the Colts to lose a game so that they could hold onto the first pick in the 2012 NFL draft and the chance to groom another franchise quarterback. The Colts and Jags made it interesting but, in the end, Indianapolis was no match for running back Maurice Jones-Drew and granted me my wish, falling by a final score of 19-13.

The story of this game featured many of the same chapters that the Colts wrote throughout the season. In particular, Jones-Drew rode Indianapolis’s weak run defense to a 169-yard performance that gave him the NFL rushing title with 1606 yards. That total also gave him the Jacksonville franchise record, eclipsing the 1572 yards that Fred Taylor racked up in 2003, and it further cemented the Colts defense as a breeding ground for big running days by the opposition. On the other side of the ball, the Colts couldn’t get their own running game moving, crafting just 56 yards on 22 carries. In a bit of symmetry, Jones-Drew broke Taylor’s mark on a 56-yard carry in the third quarter, matching Indy’s ground output for the day on one glorious play.

On the plus side, quarterback Dan Orlovsky threw for 264 yards and a touchdown, though he did throw two interceptions and was sacked three times. Austin Collie grabbed nine balls for 96 yards and also scored a touchdown, while Reggie Wayne picked up 73 yards in what could be his last game as a Colt. Linebacker Pat Angerer finished his breakout year with another strong performance that included 11 tackles, six of which were solo jobs. Antoine Bethea threw in 10 tackles for good measure (eight solo).

All in all, there wasn’t much positive to take from this game or this season, but at least it’s over now. We can turn our attention in earnest to the rebuilding that lies ahead and the fun of speculating about what the Colts will do with the number-one pick. Should be an interesting 2012.

Adam Hughes was raised, and still lives, in rural Indiana. He has been a Colts fans since the team arrived in Indianapolis on a snowy morning in 1984. The Blue and White eventually replaced the Chicago Bears as his #1 team, and Super Bowl XLI was a dream come true.

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INDIANAPOLIS —
The game — Indianapolis Colts (2-13, 1-3 AFC South) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-11, 2-3 AFC South), EverBank Field (Grass), Jacksonville, FL, 1 p.m. (EST).

Coverage ­ CBS Sports (Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein); Colts Radio Network (Bob Lamey, Will Wolford, Kevin Lee); Sirius NFL Radio Channel 113 (Colts), Channel 112 (Jaguars); XM NFL Radio Channel Channel 233 (Jaguars).

The coaches — Colts: Jim Caldwell (26-21, 3rd year); Jaguars: Mel Tucker (1-3, 1st year). Jim Caldwell has a 3-2 career coaching record against the Jaguars. Tucker is Jacksonville¹s interim head coach and has never faced Indianapolis in his current role.

The series — 22nd regular-season meeting. Colts lead series, 15-6. The Jaguars have posted wins in two of the last three matchups. Indianapolis, though, has won four of the past six and six of the past 10 meetings. The Colts have a 7-3 record against Jacksonville in road games. Six of the last eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by 10 points or less. Eight of the last eight matchups have been decided by 14 points or less. Jaguars PK Josh Scobee has provided the margin of victory for Jacksonville in three of the series meetings (53 yards with 0:38 left on 10/24/04; 51 yards with 0:04 left on 9/21/08; and 59 yards with 0:05 left on 10/3/10).

Noting it ­ QB Dan Orlovsky has completed 34-of-58 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions over the past two weeks in wins over Tennessee and Houston. Orlovsky has a 95 passer rating in fourth quarter as a Colts starter in 2011ŠRB Joseph Addai had two rushing touchdowns in his last meeting at JacksonvilleŠWR Reggie Wayne needs 113 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the eighth consecutive season. Wayne has 887 receiving yards this seasonŠWayne has caught two touchdown passes in his last two games, wins over AFC South rivals Tennessee and HoustonŠWR Austin Collie has hauled in four touchdown receptions in his past four meetings with the JaguarsŠDE Robert Mathis has registered three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in his last two gamesŠMathis needs 1.5 sacks to reach 10 for the fifth time in his NFL career.

Did you know? ­ With Minnesota winning last Saturday against Washington, it’s down to Indy and the Rams as to who will get the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL draft. But draft positioning is the farthest thing from the mind of the Colts.

Did you know 2? ­ The Colts have never been swept by an AFC South opponent since the division came into existence in 2002. The Titans and Texans fell the last two weeks and Jacksonville is up next.

Did you know 3? ­ WR Pierre Garcon needs 75 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the first time in his NFL career. Garcon has six touchdown receptions this year, which ties his single-season best (2010).

Did you know 4? ­ DE Dwight Freeney has recorded nine career sacks against Jacksonville. DE Robert Mathis is aiming for his third straight game with a sack against the Jaguars.

Stat of the week ­ Reggie Wayne has 1,599 receiving yards against the Jaguars, the most against any opponent.

The game plan –  Finish. That’s the goal heading into the Jacksonville game on Sunday.

Finish with a sweep of AFC South teams after knocking off Tennessee and Houston the last two weeks. Finish on offense when you’re in the red zone.

Find a way to punch the ball into the end zone. And finish on defense. Finish the turnaround that started in the second half of the loss to Baltimore.

Simply put, the Colts must be able to have a sustained running game while taking advantage of passing situations. Defensively, Indianapolis has to be able to slow down the Jaguars running game. And they must find a way to force mistakes by a rookie quarterback.

Key matchups –  Colts WR Reggie Wayne vs. the Jaguars secondary. Wayne usually plays well against Jacksonville and he has played well over the last two weeks in wins over the Titans and Texans. Depending on how his offseason contract negotiations go, Sunday’s game with the Jaguars could very well be Wayne’s last in an Indianapolis uniform.

Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert vs. the Colts’ pass rush. Indianapolis didn’t do a bad overall job against Gabbert earlier in the season, although there were some crucial breakdowns in the second half of that game that allowed the rookie signal caller to break free of the pocket and make some plays downfield. That can’t happen on Sunday.

Colts run defense vs. Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew. Jones-Drew is considered to be the best running back that Indianapolis’ defense faces on a regular basis. He has been tough for the Colts to stop completely. They’ve slowed him down some on occasion, but Indianapolis — who came very close to drafting Jones-Drew in 2006 and teaming him with RB Joseph Addai — has yet to completely shut him down.