Caldwell's mantra for Super Bowl hangover: Here and now

By all accounts, it was a phenomenally productive season for Colts rookie head coach Jim Caldwell. After leading Indianapolis to a 14-2 regular season record, the Colts made it to the Super Bowl.

But after losing to the Saints, the Colts' coach now has the unenviable task of trying to get his team back to the big game after a demoralizing loss.

How tough is his challenge? Consider that no AFC team has made it to back-to-back Super Bowls since the 1992-93 Bills, losers of four straight Super Bowls.

But Caldwell isn't flinching about what lies ahead. In fact, he isn't even looking ahead.

"What's good about us and what we focus in on is we try to take care of the here and now," Caldwell said on The Big Joe Show on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis. "We're focused on trying to get better every day. If we can get better every day, things will take care of themselves."

Toward that end, Caldwell referred to a sign in the locker room. It says: "Take care of the little things, and the big things will take care of themselves."

Caldwell also believes his team has developed a remarkable resilience over the years, something that will help them navigate the treacherous waters of the Super Bowl hangover.

"Our team has been able to put things behind them rather quickly," he said. "In both cases. Either big wins or big losses. I think you’ve seen us from time to time during the season, we have a big win versus a team, it’s the biggest game of the century, and all that hoopla. We win the game, and then the next week you think the team may have a big head, it’s someone they should beat and they have a little bit of a lull. That doesn’t happen with us. We come back, we forget about that game, we have a short memory and we get on with the business at hand.”