Less than 24 hours after a season-ending loss at Jacksonville gave Indianapolis the No. 1 pick in April’s draft, Irsay fired the team’s vice chairman and general manager and decided to keep coach Jim Caldwell at least until he finds a replacement for the father-and-son team.

“It was a very tough decision for me,” the Colts owner said Monday. “I had a chance to talk to them both, I had a chance to express to them, and Bill in particular. You know how hard it was and the appreciation the franchise has for all that has been done by Bill, and obviously, him and I go back 30 years. So this is difficult, this is the tough part of this business.”

For more than a decade, the Polians and Irsays seemed to operate in lock step.

Irsay sided with Polian after the 2001 season when the then team president and coach Jim Mora clashed. He thought enough of Chris Polian to begin the transition from father to son and he repeatedly supported Polian publicly even when fans were unhappy with Polian’s decisions and reactions.

But after 13 straight losses, a 2-14 record without Peyton Manning and the second-fewest wins in the franchise’s Indianapolis era, Irsay had no choice.

“I’m grateful for all the support the fans have shown us in good times and bad,” Polian said in a statement issued by the team. “Indianapolis has been a wonderful place to live and work. Most of all, I would like to thank the players, coaches and staff who have played the pivotal role in this magnificent journey. I will miss them all.”

Nobody ever doubted how much influence the elder Polian had on the game or the Colts.

He helped create the league’s salary cap structure and was a longtime member of the league’s rule-making competition committee.

He was the architect of four Super Bowl teams in Buffalo, the rapid ascension of Carolina’s expansion team and the Colts’ resurgence. Six times, he was named NFL executive of the year by The Sporting News. He drafted the Colts’ career leaders in passing (Manning), rushing (Edgerrin James) and sacks (Dwight Freeney), and the No. 2 receiver in franchise history (Reggie Wayne). His teams won two Grey Cups in the Canadian Football League, played in eight NFL championship games and five Super Bowls, and the 10-game improvement from 1998 to 1999 set a league record. In 2006, Polian finally got his elusive Super Bowl ring.

The cornerstone for all that success in Indy, though, was Manning, and the inability to find an adequate backup proved Polian’s undoing.

Manning missed the entire season with a neck injury after signing a five-year, $90 million deal in July. The Sept. 8 procedure was his third neck surgery in 19 months, and the Colts went through three different quarterbacks before getting their first win.

Players also became increasingly dismayed by the comments Polian made on his weekly radio show. The most vocal critic was Manning, probably the only person in the organization with more leverage than the team’s vice chairman.

The career backup has an expiring contract, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be back with the Colts or another team next season. For Orlovsky, and all those other potential free agents, the season finale Sunday at Jacksonville is about more than draft position. It’s one last chance to make an impression.

“Every week is an audition in this league,” Orlovsky said Thursday, one day after the arrival of his three sons. “There are 32 teams that watch, so it’s important to have a good body of work and Sunday’s game is the last piece of that body of work for this season.”

Things might be looking up for the seven-year veteran, who was unemployed until re-signing with the Colts on Sept. 29.

After losing his first nine NFL starts, Orlovsky helped Indianapolis (2-13) avoid a winless season by winning twice in five days. Another victory would give Indy its first season-ending, three-game winning streak since the Super Bowl-title season of 2006.

Orvlosky isn’t the only one facing an uncertain future in Indy.

More than a dozen players are set to become restricted or unrestricted free agents in March, including a small cadre of 30-something former Pro Bowl players — Robert Mathis, Jeff Saturday and Reggie Wayne.

The Colts also must decide whether to pay four-time league MVP Peyton Manning a $28 million bonus, let him become a free agent or work out a new deal with the franchise quarterback. Team owner Jim Irsay has said that if Manning recovers from neck surgery, he will be back in Indy, no matter the cost.

Questions also surround coach Jim Caldwell, team vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian.

Caldwell went 24-8, won two division titles and an AFC championship in his first two seasons with the Colts but without these last two wins, he could have seen his record slip to .500 this weekend.

After an 0-13 start, some fans openly criticized Caldwell for everything from his style to game management and called for a change. Finishing strong would be evidence that Caldwell did not quit on the season and that the players, who are in his corner, did not quit on him.

“I think Coach Caldwell has done a very good job this season. He has gotten the most out of his players,” Saturday said. “There have just been times that we haven’t played well, so from that standpoint that will be up to Mr. Irsay and whatever he decides to do. But I think Coach Caldwell did a good job, and you’ve just got to keep battling and playing. You just go in, play as hard as you can and hope you get a win.”

Caldwell, who was fired in 2000 at Wake Forest and lost his job again the next season when the Buccaneers got rid of Tony Dungy, already has seen defensive coordinator Larry Coyer fired. More changes could be coming in the offseason or Irsay could bring in a whole new staff.

“Whether you are coaching or playing, it is always the same, and that doesn’t matter if it is in Week 10 and you’re 9-1 or whatever it might be,” Caldwell said. “Nothing is promised to you and there are no guarantees. So I think everybody that has played the game understands that, particularly at this level, and everybody that has coached it, we all coach on one-year contracts for (our) entire career.”

The Polians aren’t entirely safe, either, not with concerns about the inability to groom an adequate backup to Manning. On his weekly radio show, Bill Polian acknowledged the front office was to blame for the lack of talent.

“Should we have done a better job? You bet,” Polian said in October. “But we have to make sure we do a better job going forward.”

Who will be around for the rebuilding project? Nobody knows..

Some contend the Colts should lose Sunday, thereby winning the Andrew Luck sweepstakes rather than winning the game and losing the No. 1 overall pick to St. Louis.

But for players and coaches fighting for their jobs, that’s not the issue.

Playing well enough to win Sunday could make all the difference between getting a job, keeping a job or being out of work in 2012.

“Honestly, I think you’re fighting for your job every single week in this league and it should be that way,” Orlovsky said. “It’s a very privileged job. But you can’t think about it that way. You just have to go out and prepare for each game and do the best you can.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Andrew Luck (Getty Images file photo)

MINNEAPOLIS — All that good luck the Indianapolis Colts received on the field these last two weeks could leave them with no Luck when the NFL draft rolls around.

The Colts won two straight games to tie with the Vikings and Rams for the league’s worst record and the chance to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 pick.

With Peyton Manning out for the year with a neck injury, the Colts lost their first 13 games of the season, and most figured Luck could start looking for an Indy-based realtor. Then a funny thing happened — the Colts started winning.

The Colts beat Tennessee two weeks ago for their first win of the season. No big deal, right? They still had a game on two-win teams in Minnesota and St. Louis and didn’t have to deal with the ignominy of going winless for an entire season.

Vikings fans were already dreaming of USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil coming in to protect Christian Ponder and clear a path for Adrian Peterson. With Sam Bradford under center, Rams fans were drooling over the prospects of bringing in Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon as a stud receiver.

Then the Colts went out and won on Thursday night against the playoff-bound Texans.

All of a sudden some Colts fans have an entirely different pain in their necks. Now all three teams are tied for the fewest wins in the league, with the Vikings and Rams still to play this weekend.

The Associated Press

Indianapolis —
The game — Indianapolis Colts (0-12, 0-3 AFC South) at Baltimore Ravens (9-3, 4-0 AFC North), M&T Bank Stadium (Shaw Sportexe Momentum Turf), Baltimore, MD, 1 p.m. (EST).

Coverage –CBS Sports (Bill Macatee, Steve Tasker); Colts Radio Network (Bob Lamey, Will Wolford, Kevin Lee); Sirius NFL Radio Channel 06 (Colts), Channel 85 (Ravens); XM NFL Radio Channel 233 (Ravens).

The coaches — Colts: Jim Caldwell (24-20, 3rd year); Ravens: John Harbaugh (41-19, 4th year). Caldwell has a 2-0 record against the Ravens. Harbaugh is 0-3 in games against the Colts.

The series –  10th regular-season meeting. Colts lead the series, 7-2. Indianapolis has won every meeting between the two franchises since 2002 (six straight regular-season victories), including a pair of post-season victories (15-6, 2006; 20-3, 2009). The last time that the Ravens won a game in the series occurred in 2001 (39-27 in Baltimore). The Ravens’ two series victories came in 2001 and 1998 (38-31 in Baltimore). Indianapolis won the first game of the series, posting a 26-21 victory in Indianapolis in 1996. The Colts have a 3-2 regular-season road record against Baltimore, including a 17-15 decision at M&T Bank Stadium in 2009.

Noting it — The Colts are closing in on tying the record for the worst regular-season start in franchise history. Indianapolis is currently 0-12 for the year. The 1986 team lost its first 13 games of the season before running off a three-game winning streak to close out the year…Indianapolis is the third home for the Colts’ franchise. The team initially began operations as the Dallas Texans in 1952 before moving to Baltimore for the 1953 season. The team was in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983 before moving to Indianapolis for the start of the 1984 season…QB Dan Orlovsky had career-bests in passing yards (353) and quarterback rating (113.2) in last week’s 31-24 loss at New England…DE Dwight Freeney needs half sack to become the 26th player with 100 career sacks. Freeney has registered 99.5 sacks during his NFL career…DE Robert Mathis has had four sacks in his last five career games against the Ravens…Baltimore offensive coordinator Cam Cameron grew up and attended high school in Terre Haute (South HS). Cameron, the stepson of former Indiana State football coach Tom Harp, played football and basketball at Indiana University. He also served as head football coach at IU….Ravens coach John Harbaugh is the brother-in-law of Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean.

Did you know? — Counting post-season games, the Colts defense has registered six interceptions in their last three meetings with Baltimore.

Did you know 2? — RB Donald Brown is shooting for his third straight games with a rushing touchdown this season.

Did you know 3? — WR Reggie Wayne, with his 52 pass receptions this season, has caught 50 or more passes in nine straight seasons.

Did you know 4? — WR Pierre Garcon has registered single-season best in receiving yardage (805) and has tied his career-high in touchdown receptions with six.

Stat of the week — Including postseason games, RB Joseph Addai has three rushing touchdowns in five career games with the Ravens.

The game plan — Continue to improve on offense. And keep tweaking the defense.

The Colts want to try, if possible, to control the tempo on offense. Indianapolis did a pretty good job against the Patriots defense last week, but the Ravens offer up one of the better defensive units in the league.

Continue their development of the running game, which has shown signs of improvement since the beginning of the season.

Defensively, the Colts can’t afford the communication issues that allowed three second quarter touchdowns at New England.

Getting consistent play from the cornerbacks is paramount, especially since there is only one starter available from the beginning of the season.

Key matchups — Colts QB Dan Orlovsky vs. Ravens rush DE Terrell Suggs. Orlovsky showed pretty good pocket presence last week against New England but was still sacked twice. Suggs, meanwhile, is a one-man wrecking crew for Baltimore with a team-high 10 sacks, two interceptions and five passes broken up.

Ravens RB Ray Rice vs. Colts’ run defense. Rice is coming off a 204-yard effort against Cleveland last week. Indianapolis’ run defense is allowing 99 yards per game and is ranked 26th in the league.

Colts secondary vs. Ravens QB Joe Flacco. Indianapolis cornerbacks are beat up and the safeties, with the exception of Pro Bowl free safety Antoine Bethea, are largely inexperienced. Flacco has completed 240-of-434 passes for 2,895 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Marvin Harrison(notes) was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts’ ” Ring of Honor ” at mid-field in Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday during halftime of the Colts’ game against the Carolina Panthers. It was an honor that was overdue for the receiver who helped Peyton Manning(notes) build a winning franchise during the early 2000s, but Harrison has struggled with off-the-field issues since his retirement in 2008, and Colts brass probably wanted to make sure that he would stay retired before making the move. That said, I think the franchise needs to open up the “Ring” a bit more and close around a couple of other past Colts who helped make those mid-decade teams so great. I don’t think many of my fellow Horseshoe fans would balk at the inclusion of Tarik Glenn and Edgerrin James(notes).

Glenn , drafted in the first round by the Colts in 1997, welcomed Manning to the league the next year and protected the quarterback’s blind side for the next nine seasons. The left tackle from the University of California at Berkeley began his college career as a defensive lineman, but made a successful conversion to the offensive line as a junior. Glenn’s strong blocking gave Manning the time he needed to hone his game and become one of the all-time greats. It also gave the quarterback a confidence that has been hard to recapture since Glenn retired before the 2007 season to pursue an MBA.

James had the unenviable task of replacing Marshall Faulk when the future Hall of Famer left for the St. Louis Rams before the 1999 season. James delivered splendidly, leading the league in rushing in each of his first two seasons and topping the 1000-yard mark in five of his seven seasons with the Colts. Ironically, James left the Colts as a free agent just in time for Indianapolis to make its Super Bowl run in 2006. Even though he was in Arizona that season, the Colts gave him a championship ring after their big win.

No matter how you look at it, Tarik Glenn and Edgerrin James are two of the Colts’ all-time greats, even including the franchise’s many decades in Baltimore. It’s time for the team to beef up its “Ring of Honor” and let in these two champions of the gridiron.

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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