Despite the fact he's the only rookie head coach in the Super Bowl era to win his first eight games, it's quite unlikely Jim Caldwell has lost a lot of sleep over his relatively under-the-radar status on a national level and the fact he did not earn too many Midseason Coach of the Year votes.

Truth be told, the Colts' low-key head coach couldn't be more comfortable in his own skin these days, which is the way daily team observers tell us he has been from the moment he took over for the retiring Tony Dungy.

"I think he has passed every test," said one such observer. "There were some questions early on. The list of promoted assistants who have not been able to handle head-coaching duties is a long one. But the day Tony announced that he was retiring, Jim picked up the ball and just never stopped.

"He was prepared. He had a plan. And he hit the ground running, never once looking frazzled or overwhelmed."

Making what he has done up to now even more impressive is the fact that Caldwell, formerly the team's assistant head coach/QB coach under Dungy, has been his own man, and not a Dungy clone.

"It's been different with Caldwell," the observer said. "When Tony came here, there was this instant reverence. He had already established such a good reputation in Tampa Bay, and the players were in awe of him right away.

"Caldwell had to prove himself more than Dungy."

What Caldwell has definitely proven to be is more of a gambler than Dungy ever was as a head coach. "I've seen more trick plays in half a season under Caldwell than I ever saw in the Dungy regime," the observer said. "It's become obvious that he's a little bit of a gambler."

One other big difference between Caldwell and Dungy is Caldwell's preference for focusing more on the offensive side of the ball and letting new defensive coordinator Larry Coyer — whom Caldwell played under at the University of Iowa as a Bob Sanders-type safety — handle the defense.

"Tony was a defensive guy who could 'X and O' on that side of the ball with the best of them," the observer said. "But he was also very involved on offense — a carryover from his college days as a quarterback.

"Jim sticks more to just offense. He really has a lot of faith in Coyer."

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