They’ve reportedly received private assurances that they’ll be back. Publicly, they’re being hung out to dry by the combined silence of owner Jim Irsay and the mounting reports of efforts to upgrade.
So what will G.M. Ryan Grigson and coach Chuck Pagano do now that it’s known that Irsay tried to hire Jon Gruden and is still trying to hire Peyton Manning? Quitting would forfeit their buyouts; staying surrenders a certain amount of pride.
With Gruden out but Manning still possibly in, Grigson and Pagano have no real choice but to watch and wait. Sure, they could agitate for an answer, and they possibly have been doing so privately. (It’s unclear whether they are working together; a year after supposedly working out their differences in a Black Monday meeting with Irsay that ended with a renewal of vows, there’s still disagreement between the two regarding the important of building for the future and winning now.)
If/when they approach Irsay with an inquiry about their status, Irsay needs simply to say, for example, I’m looking to upgrade only because you guys haven’t done a good job, you get paid for the next three years no matter what, and the last time I checked I own the team.
For Pagano specifically, the delay will make it harder to find something else for 2017, if he’s inclined to keep coaching. With each passing day, more and more spots are being filled on more and more staffs. Grigson could be added to a front office either before or after the draft, as long as another team is willing to overlook some of the moves that have been made that have led Irsay to the spot he’s now in.