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Caldwell's Colts Will Build On Dungy's Success

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS - Jim Caldwell wants the Indianapolis Colts to be his team. Even with most, if not all, of Tony Dungy's guys.

It's a risky business.

One day after Dungy announced his retirement, Caldwell confronted the most difficult question he faces as Indy's new coach: What will he change in the post-Dungy era?

"He's very tough to follow," Caldwell said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "But I'm not competing with Tony. I want to build on the success we have had and move forward."

Separating the two coaches is tough enough.

Both are 53 years old, had long careers as assistants and only one head coaching job before joining the Colts. Both openly discuss their religious beliefs and prefer actions to words. Both embrace the importance of working in the community as much as they do winning championships.

Yet Caldwell's first, and perhaps most challenging, task will be proving he's more than Dungy's identical twin.

"I am my own person, and I suspect that I may be a bit more emotional, at times, than him," Caldwell said. "I worked for him for eight years, and I never heard him raise his voice one time, so I might break that record."

Team owner Jim Irsay has given Caldwell a four-year contract.

Caldwell joined Dungy's staff in 2001 as Tampa Bay's quarterbacks coach, then moved with Dungy to Indianapolis in 2002. Since then, he has been in charge of Peyton Manning and backup Jim Sorgi although his duties expanded last season when he was made the successor-in-waiting.

Burress Faces More Legal Woes

LEBANON, Pa. - A civil trial is scheduled to begin today in Pennsylvania to determine how much New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress will have to pay in damages over a car he leased that ended up being impounded by New York City police.

Court papers say a Lebanon County car dealer allowed Burress in 2006 to borrow a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche worth more than $36,000 in exchange for Burress agreeing to sign autographs at promotional events.

"I thought it would be good for my business," the dealer, Frederick Laurenzo, said in an interview Tuesday.

But a month after Burress received the car, Laurenzo said he received a call from police in New York, who told him they had impounded it in connection with a crime. So he called Burress and told him to call police - but the police never heard from Burress and Burress never returned another one of Laurenzo's calls, Laurenzo said.

Laurenzo filed the civil complaint in September 2006, seeking restitution and accusing Burress of breach of contract because he never showed up to sign autographs and let someone else drive the vehicle. Laurenzo said it took him a year to get the vehicle back from the police.

After Laurenzo put a lien against Burress' house in Virginia, the sides agreed to arbitration.

A three-lawyer panel awarded more than $22,000 to Laurenzo last year, but Burress appealed.

BEARS: Have agreed to hire defensive backs coach Jon Hoke, who spent the last seven seasons in a similar post with the Houston Texans.

Hoke replaces Steven Wilks, who was fired after the Bears went 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Before his Texans stint, Hoke spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Florida.

BRONCOS: Center Casey Wiegmann has been added to the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl.

CHIEFS: Scott Pioli, who helped build a dynasty at New England, is the team's new general manager.

Pioli, who became vice president of player personnel for the Patriots in 2002 and spent nine years working with Coach Bill Belichick, also interviewed for the general manager vacancy this month in Cleveland.

LIONS: Interviewed Miami defensive backs coach Todd Bowles for their vacant head coaching job.

LEGAL: A federal judge in San Francisco has upheld a jury award of $28.1 million to retired football players who sued the NFL Players' Association for allegedly failing to properly market their images.

The jury said the union owed the retirees $7.1 million in actual damages for failing to include them in lucrative marketing deals with Electronic Arts Inc., the maker of the "Madden NFL" video games.

The jury also ordered $21 million punitive damages.

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