INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Colts are mourning the loss of the man who helped keep Peyton Manning protected for more than a decade.
Howard Mudd died Wednesday from injuries he suffered in a motorcycle accident last month. Mudd was the Colts' offensive line coach from 1998-2009. He was 78 years old.
Team owner Jim Irsay called Mudd "one of the game's all-time great offensive line coaches" in a tweet Wednesday afternoon.
"He contributed to many different teams over 47 years in our league---but he will always be a Colt," Irsay tweeted.
Mudd's wife, Shirley, said the former coach was critically injured in the motorcycle crash in Seattle on July 29. He underwent surgery on his pelvis, but doctors were unable to stabilize him for further treatment, the Colts said Tuesday.
Mudd was part of the Colts staff that led the team to a win in Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
"He was just and old-ball coach. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and Shirley (Mudd) – just have a lot of love and respect for Howard Mudd," Colts head coach Frank Reich said earlier Wednesday.
Reich coached with Mudd as the Colts offensive quality control coach and later the team's quarterbacks coach during Mudd's tenure with the team.
Mudd was named to two All-Pro teams and three Pro Bowls during an eight-year playing career with the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago Bears. He began coaching with the San Diego Chargers in 1974, a career that spanned seven teams and nearly 50 years.
