Colts may have hard time keeping Arians
Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson says he wants to keep offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in the fold. But that could prove difficult.
Arians, 60, has received inquiries from NFL teams seeking to fill head-coaching vacancies, The Chicago Bears have received permission to interview Arians and the San Diego Chargers also are said to be interested as well as several other clubs.
"We would try to do whatever we could to keep Bruce, but again, he's his own man and will make his own decisions," Grigson told NFL AM on Friday. "It's kind of a great situation we have here. It's pure speculation, but we'd love to have him back."
Arians, hired as the Colts' offensive coordinator in February 2011, took over ailing head coach Chuck Pagano's responsibilities on Sept. 27 ahd guided the Colts to a 9-3 record while Pagano was away. Indianapolis finished 11-5 and landed a spot in the playoffs.
Indianapolis plays at Baltimore (10-6) on Sunday in an AFC wild-card game.
Pagano returned to the sideline in late December after battling leukemia during much of the season.
Arians didn't comment on the reports Thursday. He was not available to the media because of illness, the Colts said.
An offensive assistant with the Steelers from 2004-11 -- first as wide receivers coach before five years as coordinator -- Arians was let go in Pittsburgh, which opted not to renew his contract.
Arians' only previous experience as a head coach came in the college ranks. In six years at Temple in the 1980s, his teams posted a 27-39 record.
NFL.com also reported that Colts director of player personnel Tom Telesco will interview with the Chargers on Friday.
