Arians was named the NFL Coach of the Year for his efforts last season. He was also offered to interview for several open coaching slots in the league, finally landing in the final open spot with Arizona, and being named to his first full-time head coaching position. It was not surprising that other NFL teams jumped at the chance to snatch-up Arians, but was disheartening to see him leave as well.

Bruce Arians was right at the center of one of the most inspirational and surprising Colts teams in franchise history. The story of the upstart Colts swept through the NFL, with Arians avoiding the chance to step into the spotlight the whole time. Arians took his interim head coaching duties last season with poise and honor, and there is little doubt that he will take those attributes to his much-deserved first full-time head coaching role.

Indianapolis had big shoes to fill, due to the success that Arians had this season, and due to his connection with rookie quarterback Andrew Luck. The Colts went right out to fill those shoes, by picking up someone who was possibly more familiar coaching with Luck than anyone else. Pep Hamilton, who coached with Luck in college at Stanford, is now the new offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.

Hamilton coached with Luck at Stanford, as both a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator. His comfort with Andrew Luck should surely help ease the transition from Arians’ offense. Although this job will be Pep’s first job as an offensive coordiantor in the pros, he has NFL experience, and he already knows his quarterback very well.

Hamilton has previously worked as a quarterbacks coach with the New York Jets, the Chicago Bears, and the San Fransisco 49ers. His hire to the Colts also comes at a time when hiring minorities (or lack thereof) is a hot topic in the NFL. Many media outlets have raised a stink about how few minorities were hired during this period of coaching transition in the league, while the hiring of Hamilton was widely ignored. One team did not ignore Hamilton’s interest and accomplishments, and the Indianapolis Colts may do very well because of it.

When Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia, Arians took over the head coaching duties, helping the Colts to a inspiring and improbable turnaround season. In an odd twist of fate, an illness kept Arians off the field for the Colts’ final game of the season. It’s not too much of a surprise, but is still a bit disheartening, that Arians had such an impactful but short stint in Indianapolis.

Arians had been involved in coaching at the college and pro level for nearly 40 years, including two separate times with the Colts, but had never been offered a head coaching job. Several teams interviewed Arians over the past few weeks, including the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers. As those jobs dwindled down in availability, Arians actually found himself getting signed on with the last open job. The Arizona Cardinals announced Arians as their new head coach last weekend.

Arians will have a tough job ahead of him. One tough spot for the Cardinals is their current quarterback carousel. Arians will have his hands full trying to find a solid signal caller to mentor and fill into that spot full time in Arizona. Arians also brought over one of his Colts staff to help him along in Arizona. Harold Goodwin, former offensive line coach for Indianapolis, was brought along to be the new offensive coordinator for the Cardinals.

A changing of the guard is never easy, especially when it’s a loss of suc a significant part of a team’s success. Losing Goodwin might end up being a good thing, as  many issues for the Colts last year were attributed to the offensive line. The loss of Arians will time some time to move on from, and some time to adjust to a new scheme. We will look closely to see what occurs, and how this team will try to improve from last season, with a new offensive coordinator.