(Image source: The Indianapolis Star)

BY JJ BAILEY

ANCHOR JIM FLINK

The so-called “Suck for Luck” campaign finally has a winner. 

“And the Indianapolis Colts are officially on the clock. The first pick in April's draft after finishing with another loss and the league's worst record.” (HLN)

That’s right. The Colts just might be the league’s luckiest losers. Apart from winning what appears to be a surefire number one pick in Stanford QB Andrew Luck, the rest of the Colts’ future seems a little less certain. ESPN talks it out. 

“But the bigger question is, does Jim Irsay want to keep the entire organization intact? Does he want to move forward with a new front office and a new coaching staff when the Indianapolis Colts have the number one pick? Or does he want to bring back certain elements of the front office and coaching staff?”

We found out Monday afternoon, he’s not keeping all of the front office intact. Vice President Bill Polian and Team President Chris Polian are out. The choice shocked some, but made complete sense to others. 

Bill, the older Polian, is largely credited with architecting the dominant Colts of the 2000s.  He came on in 1998, drafted Peyton Manning, and the Colts have cruised ever since.

Until now. After nine straight 10-win seasons, 11 seasons with double digit wins, and a Super Bowl, the Colts are the league’s worst. Yahoo! Sports’ Doug Farrar says, it’s no mystery as to why -- Manning’s out and Polian hadn’t really done much to back him up. 

“In the Colts' last five drafts, the best players were running back Donald Brown, linebacker Pat Angerer, defensive back Jerraud Powers, receiver Austin Collie, and linebacker Clint Session — hardly a frontline starter to be seen in those drafts, and more was expected from Polian the Elder given his reputation.”

So, was Polian’s success solely due to Peyton Manning? It’s certainly a thought that many are entertaining.  

But on NBC Sport’s Pro Football Talk, writers suggest it may be Polian’s plans for Manning that led to his ousting. Afterall, in ‘98 he scrapped his current quarterback for the drafts next biggest thing.

“Polian dumped quarterback Jim Harbaugh back then and it’s at least possible that Polian’s plans regarding Manning led to this move by Irsay. Irsay is very close to Manning and there was apparent friction between the quarterback and general manager in recent weeks. Polian seemed almost certain to draft a quarterback No. 1 and had been closely tied to Andrew Luck, who yet another Polian worked with at Stanford.”

As of 4 PM ET, there has been no decision on whether head coach Jim Caldwell will survive the cuts.