BOCA RATON, FL --- Chuck Pagano weighed in on potential rule changes for the 2016 season at a head coach breakfast Tuesday morning, part of the NFL Annual Meeting. Those proposals will be voted on Wednesday by ownership, and many would directly affect Pagano and his coaching staff, as well as the rest of the coaches in the league.
On whether he supports the proposal to allow offensive and defensive play callers to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth (Colts Offensive Coordinator Rob Chudzinski calls plays from the booth and could not communicate with the quarterback in 2015)
"I think that's a no brainer, giving teams the ability to take the middle man out of it, so to speak, if your play caller is in the booth. So that's an easy one to me, makes all the sense in the world."
Update - This rule was adopted Tuesday. It will go into effect for the 2016 season.
On the proposals for three challenges per game and/or allowing coaches to challenge any play besides scores and turnovers
"I think at the end of the day the bottom line is that we get it right. At the end of the day, everybody just wants to get the call right. I think that's the goal, the final goal, the end goal. So whatever they decide, whether you get three (challenges) regardless, or there's a proposal out there where you only get two and you only have to win one of them to get the third, it's always nice, especially if you have to use one early. If you don't win that one, at the end of the game there's a lot of one-score games. I think the average margin of score was 11 points. So, you're never out of this thing."
"You'd love to have the ability to challenge something, especially late in the game, and not have exhausted your resources, the challenges early in the game if it didn't go your way. Again, I think that the end goal is that we get the thing right."
On the proposal to eliminate the first roster cut down from 90 to 75 after the third preseason game (4th for the Colts this year, since they play in the Hall of Fame game) and just go with a final roster cut down from 90 to 53 after the final preseason game
"I think it's a smart move. I think from a player safety standpoint we've got a full complement of players at that point to play that final preseason game. I think it's more exposure for players that are on the bubble, so to speak, and get more playing time and more exposure. It gives us a chance to evaluate more players from the coaching side. It gives you a chance to evaluate."
"You may acquire a guy midway through training camp and not know that much about him. So it gives you another opportunity, another game, to put that guy in the grass, from an evaluation standpoint. From a player standpoint, it gives you more exposure, and you get to see more players."
