Nine years after he was pitched overboard by Matt Millen for Steve Mariucci, Marty Mornhinweg could be headed back to the top job for an NFL team.
Via our corporate cousins at CSNPhilly.com, an online oddsmaker has installed Mornhinweg as the favorite to replace Jim Caldwell.
Mornhinweg has 5/2 odds, with 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman at 4/1 and former Vikings coach Brad Childress at 5/1.
The presence of Roman’s name on the list makes sense, given that Roman served as offensive coordinator at Stanford, coaching presumptive No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck. But none of those names, each of whom would bring a version of the West Coast offense to Indy, mesh with the notion that Peyton Manning will still be the starting quarterback.
And barring Rob Lowe’s report from Wednesday coming to fruition in the next week or so, the selection of a coach will be the next big clue as to whether Manning will indeed return in 2012.
As explained at the top of Wednesday’s PFT Live, I think Manning already has made it clear that, if the top pick isn’t going to be traded to get him more help in his quest to cement his legacy, he doesn’t want to return, regardless of whether he’s healthy.