INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -New Colts coach Jim Caldwell said on Wednesday that special teams coach Russ Purnell would not be retained next season.
It’s the second staff decision Caldwell has made since Tony Dungy announced he was retiring Monday.
Caldwell said Tuesday during his introductory news conference that last year’s offensive assistant Frank Reich, the former Buffalo Bills quarterback, would be the new quarterbacks coach. That was Caldwell’s job the past seven years.
Like Caldwell, Purnell joined Dungy’s staff in 2002.
But during most of Purnell’s tenure, the Colts ranked near the bottom of the league in punt return and kickoff return coverage.
Purnell coached previously with Seattle, Tennessee, Baltimore and the Houston Oilers, before they moved to Tennessee. Purnell, 60, also coached at Southern Cal in the 1980s.
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