The 2009 season was the Indianapolis Colts' 57th in the National Football League (NFL) and their 26th in Indianapolis. It was the first season since 2001 that the Colts did not have Tony Dungy on their coaching staff, due to his retirement from coaching. Dungy's long time assistant, Jim Caldwell (who had been with Dungy since 2001 when he was still the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) was named the new head coach. The 2009 Indianapolis Colts improved upon their 12–4 record from 2008 as well as winning their sixth AFC South division championship in seven years with a 14–2 record. The Colts also clinched the top seed in the AFC. The Colts were the sole undefeated team after Week 15. The following week, the Colts lost to the New York Jets after benching their starters. During the playoffs, the Colts defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round and the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game and represented the AFC in Super Bowl XLIV. The 14–2 Colts lost to the 13–3 New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, 31–17.
This was the first season since 1995 that Marvin Harrison was not on the opening-day roster, as he retired during the offseason.
Offseason
Head coach announcement On January 12, 2009, Head coach Tony Dungy announced his retirement from coaching in the National Football League (NFL). Two days later, then-assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach Jim Caldwell was formally announced as Dungy's successor.
Staff changes Clyde Christensen replaced Jim Caldwell as assistant head coach. Larry Coyer replaced Ron Meeks as defensive coordinator (Meeks resigned). Tom Moore originally decided to retire from coaching in the National Football League due to a revision in the league's pension plan for non-players. Almost four months later, he was re-hired by the Colts as their Senior Offensive Coordinator. Howard Mudd originally decided to retire from coaching in the National Football League due to a revision in the league's pension plan for non-players. Almost four months later, he was re-hired by the Colts as their Senior Offensive Line Coach. Frank Reich replaced Jim Caldwell as quarterbacks coach. Ray Rychleski replaced Russ Purnell as special teams coach.
Additions Pos. Player Date Notes OG Brandon Barnes April 23, 2009 WR Hank Baskett September 17, 2009 RB Donald Brown August 2, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft TE Colin Cloherty April 27, 2009September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad WR Austin Collie August 1, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft QB Chris Crane April 4, 2009 C Kyle DeVan April 21, 2009 S Aaron Francisco September 6, 2009 WR Sam Giguère September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad DT John Gill September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad LB Cody Glenn September 6, 2009 Later assigned to the practice squad DE Rudolph Hardie August 13, 2009 RB Mike Hart September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad DT Ed Johnson April 5, 2009 WR John Matthews September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad P Pat McAfee July 29, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft RB Walter Mendenhall August 13, 2009August 22, 2009 DT Fili Moala August 1, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft LB Michael Okwo February 16, 2009 QB Curtis Painter July 29, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft S Marcus Paschal August 22, 2009 G Tom Pestock August 19, 2009 TE Jason Pociask September 8, 2009 Added to practice squad LB Adam Seward March 21, 2009 WR Taj Smith September 7, 2009 Added to practice squad LB Michael Tauiliili April 4, 2009 DT Terrance Taylor July 29, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft OG Jaimie Thomas July 29, 2009September 7, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL DraftAdded to practice squad
Departures
Pos. Player Date Notes LB Rufus Alexander April 4, 2009 K Shane Andrus September 16, 2009 RB Lance Ball September 5, 2009 TE Colin Cloherty August 31, 2009 CB Michael Coe August 31, 2009 Placed on waived-injured list S Brannon Condren July 29, 2009 QB Chris Crane August 22, 2009 LB Buster Davis March 30, 2009 P Mike Dragosavich April 4, 2009 CB Brandon Foster July 29, 2009 WR Sam Giguère September 5, 2009 DT John Gill September 5, 2009 S Matt Giordano September 6, 2009 DT Adrian Grady September 5, 2009 CB Nick Graham September 5, 2009 WR Roy Hall August 13, 2009 Placed on waived-injured list DE Rudolph Hardie August 31, 2009 Placed on waived-injured list S Brandon Harrison July 29, 2009 WR Marvin Harrison February 24, 2009 RB Mike Hart September 5, 2009 T Corey Hilliard August 19, 2009 DE Marcus Howard September 5, 2009 CB Dante Hughes September 5, 2009 LB Curtis Johnson August 31, 2009 C Steve Justice September 5, 2009 S Travis Key September 6, 2009 Placed on waived-injured list T Pat Kuntz July 29, 2009 OL Cornelius Lewis July 29, 2009 WR John Matthews September 5, 2009 WR Brett McDermott September 5, 2009 RB Walter Mendenhall August 18, 2009September 5, 2009 S Marcus Paschal September 1, 2009 G Tom Pestock August 13, 2009September 5, 2009 TE Jamie Petrowski September 5, 2009 Placed on waived-injured list LB Tyrell Sales July 29, 2009 LB Jordan Senn September 7, 2009 LB Adam Seward August 22, 2009 WR Taj Smith September 5, 2009 LB Mike Tauiliili September 5, 2009 DT Terrance Taylor September 5, 2009 Drafted by Colts in 2009 NFL Draft OG Jaimie Thomas September 5, 2009 DE Josh Thomas September 5, 2009 OT Michael Toudouze September 5, 2009
Free agents Pos. Player Tag Result RB Lance Ball ERFA Re-signed with Colts ILB Buster Davis ERFA Signed with Texans G/T Daniel Federkeil RFA Re-signed with Colts SS Matt Giordano UFA Re-signed with Colts CB Kelvin Hayden UFA Re-signed with Colts OLB Tyjuan Hagler UFA Re-signed with Colts OLB Freddie Keiaho UFA Re-signed with Colts DT Daniel Muir ERFA Re-signed with Colts CB Keiwan Ratliff UFA Signed with Steelers DT Darrell Reid UFA Signed with Broncos RB Dominic Rhodes UFA Signed with Bills C Jeff Saturday UFA Re-signed with Colts P Hunter Smith UFA Signed with Redskins DE Josh Thomas UFA Re-signed with Colts UFA: Unrestricted free agent; RFA: Restricted free agent; ERFA: Exclusive rights free agent
2009 NFL draft
+ 2009 Indianapolis Colts Draft Selections Draft order Player Position Height Weight College Round Choice 1 27 Donald Brown Running back 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Connecticut 2 56 Fili Moala Defensive tackle 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 303 lb (137 kg) Southern California 3 92 Jerraud Powers Cornerback 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Auburn 4 127 Austin Collie Wide receiver 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Brigham Young 4 136 Terrance Taylor Defensive tackle 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 319 lb (145 kg) Michigan 6 201 Curtis Painter Quarterback 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Purdue 7 222 Pat McAfee Punter 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 228 lb (103 kg) West Virginia 7 236 Jaimie Thomas Guard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 330 lb (149 kg) Maryland
Undrafted free agents Name Position CollegeColin ClohertyTight endBrownRamon HumberLinebackerNorth Dakota StateJacob LaceyCornerbackOklahoma State
Staff Indianapolis Colts 2009 staff Front office Owner/CEO – Jim Irsay President – Bill Polian Senior Executive Vice-president – Pete Ward Executive vice-president – Bob Terpening Vice-president/general manager – Chris Polian Director of football administration – Steve Champlin Director of player personnel – Tom Telesco Director of Pro Player Personnel – Clyde Powers
Head coaches Head coach – Jim Caldwell Assistant head coach/wide receivers – Clyde Christensen
Offensive coaches Senior offensive coordinator – Tom Moore Quarterbacks – Frank Reich Running backs – Gene Huey Tight ends – Ricky Thomas Senior offensive line – Howard Mudd Offensive quality control/assistant offensive line – Pete Metzelaars Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Larry Coyer Defensive line – John Teerlinck Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive backs – Alan Williams Special assistant to the Defense – Rod Perry Defensive assistant – Bill Teerlinck
Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Ray Rychleski
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Jon Torine Assistant strength and conditioning – Richard Howell
Roster Indianapolis Colts 2009 final roster Quarterbacks Peyton Manning Curtis Painter
Running backs Joseph Addai Donald Brown Mike Hart Chad Simpson
Wide receivers Hank Baskett Austin Collie Pierre Garçon Sam Giguère Reggie Wayne
Tight ends Dallas Clark Colin Cloherty Gijon Robinson Jacob Tamme Offensive linemen Kyle DeVan G Ryan Diem T Charlie Johnson T Ryan Lilja G Mike Pollak G Jamey Richard C Jeff Saturday C Michael Toudouze T Tony Ugoh T
Defensive linemen Ervin Baldwin DE Raheem Brock DE Keyunta Dawson DE Eric Foster DE Dwight Freeney DE John Gill DT Antonio Johnson DT Robert Mathis DE Fili Moala DT Daniel Muir DT Linebackers Gary Brackett MLB Cody Glenn OLB Ramon Humber OLB Freddy Keiaho MLB Clint Session OLB Philip Wheeler OLB
Defensive backs Antoine Bethea FS Melvin Bullitt SS Aaron Francisco SS Kelvin Hayden CB Tim Jennings CB Jacob Lacey CB Jerraud Powers CB T. J. Rushing CB Jamie Silva SS
Special teams Pat McAfee P Justin Snow LS Matt Stover K Adam Vinatieri K Reserve lists Daniel Federkeil T (IR) Anthony Gonzalez WR (IR) Tyjuan Hagler LB (IR) Roy Hall WR (IR) Rudolph Hardie DE (IR) Marlin Jackson CB (IR) Jamie Petrowski TE (IR) Bob Sanders S (IR) Tom Santi TE (IR) Jim Sorgi QB (IR)
Practice squad Keith Gray C Terrail Lambert CB John Matthews WR Brandon Renkart LB Taj Smith WR Jaimie Thomas G Drew Willy QB
rookies in italics 53 active, 10 inactive, 7 practice squad
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 August 14 Minnesota Vikings L 3–13 0–1 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 2 August 20 Philadelphia Eagles W 23–15 1–1 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 3 August 29 at Detroit Lions L 17–18 1–2 Ford Field Recap 4 September 3 at Cincinnati Bengals L 7–38 1–3 Paul Brown Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 13 Jacksonville Jaguars W 14–12 1–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 2 at Miami Dolphins W 27–23 2–0 Land Shark Stadium Recap 3 September 27 at Arizona Cardinals W 31–10 3–0 University of Phoenix Stadium Recap 4 October 4 Seattle Seahawks W 34–17 4–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 5 October 11 at Tennessee Titans W 31–9 5–0 LP Field Recap 6 Bye 7 October 25 at St. Louis Rams W 42–6 6–0 Edward Jones Dome Recap 8 November 1 San Francisco 49ers W 18–14 7–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 9 November 8 Houston Texans W 20–17 8–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 10 November 15 New England Patriots W 35–34 9–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 11 November 22 at Baltimore Ravens W 17–15 10–0 M&T Bank Stadium Recap 12 November 29 at Houston Texans W 35–27 11–0 Reliant Stadium Recap 13 December 6 Tennessee Titans W 27–17 12–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 14 December 13 Denver Broncos W 28–16 13–0 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 15 at Jacksonville Jaguars W 35–31 14–0 Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Recap 16 December 27 New York Jets L 15–29 14–1 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 17 January 3, 2010 at Buffalo Bills L 7–30 14–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap
Standings
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars Week 1: Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts – Game summary Game time: 1:00 PM EDT Game weather: 74 °F (Sunny) TV announcers (CBS): Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots Game attendance: 65,757 at Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Referee: Tony Corrente
First quarter
No scoring play
Second quarter
JAC – (9:02) Josh Scobee 24-yard field goal is GOOD. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards, in 4:55. (Jaguars 3–0) IND – (3:43) Joseph Addai left tackle for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Extra point converted. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, in 5:19. (Colts 7–3) JAC – (1:04) Josh Scobee 41-yard field goal is GOOD. Drive: 8 plays, 41 yards, in 2:40. (Colts 7–6)
Third quarter
IND – (7:04) Peyton Manning pass deep left to Reggie Wayne for 35 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Extra point converted. Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 5:34. (Colts 14–6)
Fourth quarter