Sunday, March 18, 2012
By Joe Scalzo
When offensive lineman Mike McGlynn joined the Cincinnati Bengals last September, outsiders saw a team with a new offensive coordinator and a rookie quarterback and said, “This team has as much chance of making the playoffs as Peyton Manning does of getting cut.”
So when the Fitch High graduate signed a two-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts on Friday, he knew everyone assumed he was going to a basement-bound team.
But he sees a team on the rise.
“You look at Cincinnati last year and what happened in the past with [Steelers quarterback] Ben Roethlisberger,” McGlynn said, speaking by phone Friday night. “There’s not a lot expected with rookie quarterbacks but it’s been proven they can make the playoffs.
“Now, I’m not saying the Colts have the same defense as those teams but they’re building a team and they can be a successful organization in the next year or two.”
McGlynn, a fourth round pick of the Eagles in 2008, played three seasons in Philadelphia and started 14 of 16 games at center in 2010. He was released following the Eagles’ 2011 training camp and picked up by Cincinnati, where he played seven games with four starts at guard last fall.
The Colts showed the most interest in McGlynn in free agency, in part because Indianapolis’ first-year general manager, Ryan Grigson, was the Eagles’ director of college scouting from 2006-09.
“He really came after me, which was exciting,” said McGlynn, who played collegiately at Pitt and will most likely play right guard for the Colts. “I had some interest from some other teams but I felt Indianapolis was the best opportunity to help me take my career where I want it to go.”
The Colts are starting over with a new coach (Chuck Pagano) and a new quarterback (most likely Andrew Luck) after cutting ties with head coach Jim Caldwell and Manning in the offseason.
McGlynn said he’s hoping to spend the next six or seven years in Indianapolis, particularly since he and his wife, Megan, have two young daughters.
When asked the secret to moving so often, he laughed and said, “Hire good movers. That’s the secret.
“It’s really stressful not knowing how things are going to fall,” he added. “Family is big for me and it’s exciting that I’m still pretty close to home. It’d be totally different if I was on the West Coast, like in San Francisco or something.
“Now I’m just trying to get things situated in my new hometown and begin a new chapter in my life. It’s been an interesting first four years in the NFL and hopefully I can stay here until I retire. We’ll see.”