History tells Colts coach Jim Caldwell that sometimes, a 14-2 regular season isn’t enough

Caldwell says resting starters was right move

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell has been asked plenty of times about his decision to rest some Colts down the stretch of the regular season and not focus on chasing a potentially perfect record.

He stands by the choice, and points to Marty Schottenheimer as a reason why.

“You’re hired to win Super Bowls,” Caldwell said Friday in his final news conference before Indianapolis faces New Orleans in Sunday’s Super Bowl. “You’re not hired to have outstanding seasons. There’s been a number of guys, you can probably check back three or four years ago, and there was a coach in this league, a great coach who got fired because he was 14-2 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.”

That would be Schottenheimer.

He was fired by the San Diego Chargers after going a league-best 14-2 in the 2006 regular season. The Chargers lost their first playoff game to New England 24-21, and Schottenheimer was dismissed about a month later.

“What does that tell you? It’s pretty simple for me to understand that the most important thing is to get where we are today and have an opportunity to win it all,” said Caldwell, whose Colts started 14-0 this season before dropping their last two games entering the playoffs. “So that’s what our focus entailed.”

The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain football’s lone start-to-finish perfect team, finishing 17-0. Caldwell said he hasn’t seen former Dolphins coach Don Shula since arriving in the Miami area for the Super Bowl.

“His record still stands,” Caldwell said.

NOT UPSETTING: If the New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl, it’ll be considered an upset.

That’s fine with the Saints.

Listed by oddsmakers as five-point underdogs for Sunday’s showdown with the Indianapolis Colts, the Saints — who seem to be the sentimental pick, given what their city has gone through in recent years following Hurricane Katrina — say they don’t necessarily mind being the underdog.

“Not at all,” Saints guard Carl Nicks said. “At the end of the day, I’ll have the ring, and if that happens, anyone can say what they like.”

SUPER WEATHER: Indications are that Sunday’s Super Bowl will be dry, and played in cool air by South Florida standards.

Forecasters say a cold front is expected to bring the chance of rain Saturday, especially in the morning. Saturday night should have a low around 50 degrees and the projected temperature for kickoff is 66 degrees, a few degrees below normal for this time of year in the Miami area.

By game’s end, the temperature could fall into the upper 50s, which might seem downright balmy by Indianapolis’ February standards.

MAN OF THE YEAR: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award on the field moments before kickoff of Sunday’s Super Bowl.

The finalists are London Fletcher of the Washington Redskins, Mike Furrey of the Cleveland Browns and Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs. Each spoke about the award Friday, as did Payton’s daughter Brittney, who was flanked by her mother Connie Payton and brother Jarrett Payton, who played at the University of Miami.

“My dad cherished this award because it recognized him not just for his skill and ability on the football field, but for his commitment to giving back through community service as well,” Brittney Payton said. “We are honored to be in the company of these three outstanding athletes and humble community servants.”

ON THE ROAD: Some Saints fans are making the almost 900-mile trek to the Super Bowl in RVs.

Alvin Boseman, 65, of New Orleans, will be making his way to South Florida in an RV packed with relatives and friends.

“The reason was to be together,” said Boseman, who says he’s been a Saints fan since the franchise was born.

On game day, Boseman and his entourage will be tailgating with ribs, chicken, gumbo, hot dogs and homemade chili, just to name a few entrees. The entire trip is costing almost $5,000, but breaks down to about $500 a person. And there are other pluses.

“We don’t have to rush. We can take our time,” Boseman said.

Recreation Vehicle Industry Association spokesman Jon Tancredi said his data shows plenty of Colts and Saints fans were renting RVs for the Super Bowl. And it’s not just Saints fans, either: Gene Weitzel, general manager of Family RV Rentals in New Whiteland, Ind., said he has rented seven RVs so far to people willing to make 18-hour drive from the Indianapolis area.

LEGACY GIFT: The NFL is donating $1 million to South Florida Youth Education Towns, part of its Super Bowl legacy program.

It’s the 17th year of the NFL building YETs — state-of-the-art facilities that provide tutoring, mentoring, training and other services — to children. There are two of the YETs in South Florida, one in Miami, the other in Fort Lauderdale, both opened after previous Super Bowls.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the program is “one of the game’s greatest achievements.”

Associated Press Writer Lisa Orkin Emmanuel contributed.