Colts’ Pagano back with team, intends to coach vs. Texans

INDIANAPOLIS - Chuck Pagano stepped to the podium, hugged his team owner, thanked his family for its support and wiped a tear from his eye.

He might finally turn out the lights in his office, too.

Nearly three months to the day after he was diagnosed with leukemia, the Colts' first-year coach returned Monday to a team that was eager to reunite with a boss healthy enough to go back to work.

"I told you my best day of my life was July 1, 1989," Pagano said, referring to his wedding date. "Today was No. 2. Getting to pull up, drive in, get out of my car, the key fob still worked. I was beginning to question whether it would or not.

"When I asked for Bruce (Arians) to take over, I asked for him to kick some you-know-what and to do great. Damn Bruce, you had to go and win nine games? Tough act to follow. Best in the history of the NFL. That's what I have to come back to."

The comment turned tears into the laughter everyone expected on such a festive occasion.

For the Colts and Pagano, a former UNLV assistant, Monday was as precious as anyone could have imagined when he took an indefinite leave to face the biggest opponent of his life, cancer.

In his absence, all the Colts did was win nine of 12 games, make a historic turnaround and clinch a playoff spot, all before Sunday's regular-season finale against Houston, which they pegged as the day they hoped to have Pagano back. If all goes well at practice this week, Pagano will be on the sideline for the first time since a Week 3 loss to Jacksonville.

Pagano endured three rounds of chemotherapy to put his cancer in remission.

That Pagano's return came less than 24 hours after Indianapolis (10-5) locked up the No. 5 seed in the AFC, and the day before Christmas, seemed fitting, too. The Colts won 20-13 at Kansas City on Sunday to clinch the playoff spot.

"I know Chuck is ready for this challenge," owner Jim Irsay said. "It's been a miraculous story. It really is a book. It's a fairy tale. It's a Hollywood script. It's all those things, but it's real."

Arians and first-year general manager Ryan Grigson decided to leave the lights on in Pagano's office until he returned. Pagano noted the team even installed plastic clips to make sure those lights were not mistakenly turned off while he was gone. Those clips were removed when Pagano arrived Monday morning.

And Arians said nobody sat in the front seat of the team bus.

"He's always been our head coach," Arians said.