Sean Payton won’t be the only high-profile coach sitting up in the booth when the Saints face the Colts this weekend.
Jim Tressel, who left Ohio State under the cloud of the scandal that sent Pryor scurrying to the supplemental draft, will begin his role as a gameday assistant coach for the Colts. Tressel was initially planning to start working with the Colts from the start of the season, but, after consulting with the league in the wake of Pryor’s suspension, the team, the team delayed his start date until the seventh game of the year.
He’ll be up in the booth when the Colts play in New Orleans on Sunday night to help the team judge whether or not to challenge calls, among other things. Jim Caldwell described what Tressel’s schedule will be like with the Colts.
“It will vary,” Caldwell said. “Initially, I want him to come around to make certain that he kind of gets a feel for how we do things, with practice, preparation, all those kinds of things, so he’ll have a sense of that. Then the rest of the time, it will probably be just toward the weekend. But he’ll be around; travel with us obviously.”
Philip Wilson of the Indianapolis Star reports that Caldwell said he had some other gameday activities in mind for Tressel beyond replay review, but didn’t specify what those duties might be. Also to be determined: Whether or not Tressel will be sporting a sweater vest.