INDIANAPOLIS –The first call from Chuck Pagano made was to his old boss, John Harbaugh.
The Colts had an opening at defensive coordinator and Pagano wasn't wasting any time.
Pagano, who had coached under Harbaugh in Baltimore from 2008-2011, was inquiring about a man they watched develop arguably the league's most heralded linebacker group over the past half dozen seasons.
Next up was Harbaugh's turn to deliver a call to Ted Monachino.
After years of serving as a position coach in the collegiate and professional ranks, Monachino was getting the opportunity he had longed for, under a guy who's more than just a coach.
"It's an easy decision to come be the coordinator in Indianapolis," Monachino said while inside of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center last week.
"To have an opportunity to work with a guy (Pagano) that you have so much respect for as a defensive coach, but a guy that is a really close friend of yours is a special situation. It's a really exciting time. It (was) a crazy 36 hours, but I couldn't be happier to be here."
For Monachino, the journey to hold his first ever coordinating position in college or professional football has spanned across the United States.
An initial graduate assistant stop took Monachino to Texas Christian University, before he came back to his home state of Missouri to coach at Southwest Missouri State.
Stops at James Madison University, Boise State and Arizona State ended his collegiate tour.
NFL stints lasting a handful of seasons in Jacksonville and then six years with the Ravens has brought Monachino back to the Midwest.
When Monachino recounts all of those experience, he goes even further back---to his days of coaching Missouri High School Football.
Monachino thanks old coaches at Hannibal High School and Pacific High School for giving him those beginning opportunities in his mid 20s.
With his 50th birthday coming in 2016, Monachino has reached a peak so many can only live through dreams.
The small-town kid from northwestern Missouri thanks the people, especially the guy who called the Ravens team facility last Wednesday.
"This is why you stay in this business because of great men like Chuck," Monachino says.
"The thing I know about Chuck Pagano is his vision his crystal clear. There is an emphasis on eliminating as much gray as what we get, what we do, day-by-day, week-by-week, and game plan by game plan. That's exciting to me. We are going to take as much as the fluff away and get them down to the things our players do the best and base our system on that."
