NFL Network has a great series of sorts going with their “A Football Life.” They cover both players and coaches and dig into their stories and experiences while shedding light on what made them so successful within the sport.
As the AFC playoffs linger on this weekend, both match-ups will feature brothers who share the same last name. John Pagano serves as defensive coordinator in San Diego while his brother, Chuck, is the lead man in Indy. Both men have performed extremely well within their most recent ventures and could be poised for big things in the future.
Chuck’s career has been more prominently featured within the national media markets. His leukemia diagnosis in September of 2012 not only shook his team but the league in general. Chuck had garnered a ton of respect for his work as defensive coordinator in Baltimore from 2008-2011 and was rumored to be a head coaching candidate for quite some time prior to taking the Indy job.
John’s path has been far less certain. He graduated college in 1988 and majored in business marketing. He had no documented coaching experience prior to joining the Chargers in 2002, but he is currently the longest tenured coach on the staff.
The AFC playoffs have been, for quite some time in fact, almost completely dictated by big time quarterbacks. It was not long ago that the Chargers featured a more open attack and banked on Phillip Rivers to get it done for them. Rivers was joined by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Ben Roethlisberger as the top dogs in the conference.
A young Jets team and several Ravens groups led by Joe Flacco and Ray Lewis were also seated around the table, but you get the picture. AFC championships meant “elite” quarterbacks matched up and Phil Simms announcing the game on CBS.
But the last two AFC title games involved a Baltimore team that Chuck at least helped develop, and that Ravens team was known for tenacity and physicality as much as anything else. We also saw the Rex Ryan led Jets reach back to back title games not too long ago. While offense still rules the regular season, you have to be natty and physical to go anywhere in the playoff, and the Pagano brothers have done a wonderful job of developing those traits on their respective teams.
John’s work with this San Diego defense has been nothing short of amazing. This secondary ranked as one of the worst in the league and the Chargers had awful defensive YPP metrics during the first half of the year.
Dating back to their initial home meeting with Cincinnati on December 1, the Chargers have stymied several high octane offenses in impressive fashion. They have used toughness up front in the form of a massive three man defensive line that has dominated the line of scrimmage during this most recent run, and the secondary has improved enough to get by.
Kendall Reyes, Cam Thomas and Corey Liuget are one of the most interesting 3-4 lines in all of the league. Thomas is an animal inside, and Reyes and Liuget can be difficult to block with only one body as well.
Those three have done their job in allowing Manti T’eo and Donald Butler to roam free. T’eo had eight tackles in the Bengals win, while Butler made the critical forced fumble which changed the momentum around right before the first half ended.
John has instilled both discipline and toughness in his front seven, and he has also mixed up blitz packages in ways that have left the opposition frustrated. Pagano began such work back in 2005 when he became the linebackers coach. Sean Phillips and Shawne Merriman flourished under his leadership. This current team doesn’t have a player quite in that category, but they are coming along.
While Chuck’s Colts and their potential for success primarily revolve around an offense which has the NFL’s best young quarterback, this team employs a similar mentality to what S.D. brings to the table. Their defense, however, does leave a lot to be desired. They were manhandled in the first half against Kansas City and trailed 38-10 early on in the third quarter.
While this defense has some legitimate holes and concerns which could prove fatal come Saturday night, do not overlook the positive qualities of this team as a whole. They have been able to improve upon a good 2012 as the result of a physical ground game that has enabled them to play with clock management principles.
While Trent Richardson has largely been labeled a “bust,” by many analysts, his mere presence combined with the efforts of Donald Brown and Pagano’s attitude have enabled the young interior of their offensive line to play beyond their talent level and not be exposed for the weaknesses they actually possess.
Richardson comes in averaging only 2.9 yards per carry, and the Colts ran it on only 41% of their snaps. When the game is on the line, Luck has been provided the ball exclusively. But the fact that Indy has more physicality at the point of attack now than they did before has helped Luck earlier on in ball games, with him being the closer while his backs open things up.
Pagano has even been on the books as saying he wants to be more run oriented, which explains his willingness to offer up a first rounder for Richardson in the first place. The man whose presence created the “Chuckstrong,” mantra a season ago is wise in the sense that he understands the need for stability and balance regardless of how his team, or the league for that matter, is beginning to evolve.
I do not know what this season or the future will allow for either man. It is possible that one or both of them could follow in the footsteps of so many other great coaching families and end up in Canton. Regardless, they are both leaving lasting imprints on this season.
Above all else, both men understand the game and are willing to place emphasis on traditional aspects of the sport that often get overlooked today. Chuck, in particular, has been unwilling to conform to the pass-heavy strategies incorporated by many teams even though he is blessed with the best young arm this league has seen in a while.
In order to be successful, sometimes you have to stick out like a sore thumb. The Paganos, for one reason or another, seem to do that. They prefer substance over style and truly understand how to get the most out of a situation. We’ll see if either can win the AFC this season in the coming weeks. But, regardless of outcome, it’s clear that Chuck and John are making the family quite proud.
