Question: Welcome back, so to speak. You took the week after the season to decide whether or not to return as the Colts’ head coach. Are you surprised with your decision?

Answer: I’m not really surprised. I want to coach. That’s what I do and I enjoy it. The last couple of years I’ve always evaluated it, but I try not to look at it or even think about it as the season’s going on, and then I try to assess where we are and make those decisions after the season’s over. I try not to handicap it anymore.

Q: The level of interest always seems to sort of surprise you . . .

A: It does, and I guess it just goes with the popularity of the NFL and that kind of thing. I was a little surprised that it was such a major story.

Q: Even at the press conference to announce your return, you seemed a bit surprised by it. You basically said, ‘All I’m doing is staying . . .’

A: (Laughing) To be honest, probably if it wasn’t for Jim Caldwell’s situation and really wanting to explain that, I would have preferred not to have a press conference. We’d had our end-of-the-year press conference and we’d go on. But I knew there would be some questions and it gave you a chance to answer those right then and there for everyone and hopefully not have to answer them again in two month or in mini-camp.

Q: Why do you think it is that people have such a tough time believing that you just wanted to take a few days to really consider the future? People wanted to assume you knew, or you were hiding something, or that the decision was already basically made . . .

A: I think because they’ve already made up their minds about what you’re going to do or what you should do, they think that you have. It is kind of amazing to me that they wouldn’t just relax and let you determine what you’re going to do and tell people when it’s all said and done.

Q: You said in the press conference that you consider this more than a job. It’s also a ministry. How much did that influence your decision to return?

A: If it was just about football and winning the Super Bowl, we’ve done that and I have said that I’m not going to be in this forever. I do feel like I’m getting close to when I’m going to finish. I have a great deal of respect for (Colts Owner and Chief Executive Officer) Jim Irsay and want to do what would help him, but if it was just that, I probably wouldn’t still be in it. But the fact that you do feel like you’re doing more than just coaching a football team and you can accomplish some things because of the position – you still have to do your job and you still have to win and all of that – but I get to do more.

Q: Is that why you mentioned that missionaries are often away from their families . . .

A: That’s something my wife (Lauren) and I talked about. It’s something that we feel like the Lord has given us right now for this time. He has put us in a great team, a great organization and we feel like there’s a reason for it.

Q: How assuring is it for you to have Jim Caldwell as your Associate Head Coach? How big of a deal is that to you?

A: It’s great for the organization, No. 1, because we know the direction we’re going. I have said that I’m not going to be doing this forever, so it lets Jim Irsay plan and know the direction he’s going with the organization. No. 2, it takes a little pressure off me at the end of every year. It keeps me from saying, ‘Well, I hate to have Jim Caldwell get a job and then I leave next year and we’re losing a guy that everyone wants.’ It just really allows me to make my decisions on my future just based on me. That helps. Also, it’s a great plan to get Jim acclimated to the job before he actually has to take over. I think it’s going to be great.

Q: You mentioned Monday that you knew immediately in the interview process in Tampa that you wanted Jim on your staff. From working with him on a daily basis for seven years, what have you learned about him since then that helps you know he will be a quality head coach?

A: He’s very, very sharp. He’s very focused. He’s able to sort through what’s important and what isn’t very quickly. He’s able to communicate with his guys and make those concepts crystal clear. He’s able to stay calm in pressurized situations. I think he’s going to be great.

Q: And the things you listed are as vital to being a head coach as Xs and Ox, aren’t they?

A: Jim is as sound in the Xs and Os as anybody you’re going to come across, but the things that make or break you when you take over a team are decision-making, poise, leadership skills, getting people to buy into what you’re doing. He’ll do that really well.

Q: You’ll be working with him as Associate Head Coach now. Has your working relationship with him grown closer in recent years?

A: I bounce things off of him. I bounce things off of a lot of guys, but I specifically bounce things off him. I know I’ve tried to talk about what we do, why we make decisions, why I think a certain way and this will give us even more of a chance to do that.

Q: You’ve mentioned something in years past that you mentioned again after this season – that even as much success as you’ve had, it still means a lot to you at the end of each season when Jim Irsay and Colts President Bill Polian want you to return. You value that, don’t you?

A: I don’t take it for granted, not only because of what happened to me in Tampa (where he coached from 1996-2001), but just look around the league: Marty Schottenheimer was 14-2 (with San Diego) last year and wasn’t back the next year. He lost in the first round (AFC Divisional Playoff game in 2006) just like we did (in 2007) and wasn’t back, so you can’t say it doesn’t happen. It does happen. I just really feel blessed that they do want you back. For Jim to say, ‘Hey, take your time. Think about it. Whatever we can do to help you make this decision and come back, we want do,’ that means a lot.

Q: You have nine consecutive playoff appearances, including five consecutive AFC South titles, and you won the Super Bowl last year, but you still know it’s year to year . . .

A: I’ve seen coaches win the Super Bowl and the next year they don’t necessarily want them back.

Q: When you first arrived here from Tampa in 2002, did you ever imagine the relationship between yourself and the city and the team developing as it has? You’ve really been embraced in a special way, haven’t you? Did you imagine you would come to feel this way about the town and the team?

A: You hope that’s the case. In your best, wildest wish list, that’s what you hope happens. You hope you have tremendous success. You hope the city gravitates to the team. You hope that you’re well-received. You never know how it’s going to turn out, but it’s kind of like a fairy tale.

Q: Because when you first came here, for two or three years, you still heard, ‘Former Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.’ Now, you’re probably forever intertwined with this organization . . .

A: That is really what you hope for. It couldn’t have worked out better. I signed a five-year contract and you say, ‘I hope it goes five years and we’ll see how it goes.’ It’s gone beyond what I could have imagined.

Q: Hall of Fame Head Coach John Madden recently said in a story that although you always have said, you weren’t a ‘lifer’ in the NFL, maybe you are – that maybe that’s why you’ve done it for as long as you have.