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Cota's thrilled to hook up with Colts By DON HUNT Chad Cota didn't think twice about hooking on with the Indianapolis Colts. It's hard to turn down a multimillion-dollar contract. And harder still to turn down an up-and-coming team led by Peyton Manning, perhaps the top young quarterback in football. Cota left the New Orleans Saints last month and signed a four-year contract with the Colts believed to be worth $7.6 million, plus a $2 million signing bonus. Cota's salary is roughly double what it was last year and 10 times more than two years ago, when he made the NFL minimum. "It just seemed like a great fit," said Cota, a former Ashland High and University of Oregon standout who was in the Rogue Valley this week visiting friends and relatives. "Indianapolis is a team that's going to start winning a lot of games in the near future -- next season, hopefully -- and I feel real comfortable with the coaching staff and the players." What made joining the Colts even more appealing was that Cota will be reunited with his old defensive backfield coach at Carolina -- George Catavolos -- along with former Panthers defensive coordinator Vic Sangio and general manager Bill Polian. It was Polian, then GM at Carolina, who welcomed Cota into the National Football League by selecting him in the seventh round of the 1995 NFL draft. Five of Cota's old teammates at Carolina are also wearing Indianapolis uniforms these days, including linebacker Andrew Royal and cornerback Tyrone Poole. "I can't wait to go to training camp," Cota said. "I really couldn't ask for a better situation." Cota spent last season with the Saints and notoriously volatile head coach Mike Ditka. Cota didn't have any problems with Ditka -- he rather liked playing for the tightly wound Hall-of-Famer -- but was perturbed at his reduced playing time late in the season. The strong safety still wound up second on the Saints in tackles and had four interceptions. "We had a three-man rotation going at the two safety positions over the last four or five games," the 27-year-old Cota said. "It was frustrating. The Saints paid me a lot of money and I wanted to be on the field, playing. It was hard for me to come out." Cota signed a three-year contract with the Saints last year, but was able to gain free-agent status due to a couple of voidable clauses, namely that the team finished in the top five in the league in interceptions, which it did, and that Cota was on the field for more than 10 percent of the plays, which he was. Cota was traveling across Europe last month when negotiations began between the Colts and his agent, Frank Bauer. "My wife and I were in Rome when the deal was sealed," Cota said. "It was quite a relief. I had rung up a big phone bill." When he returned to the States, Cota sold his townhouse in Charlotte, N.C., bought a new home in Indianapolis and visited with Colts head coach Jim Mora. Cota was set to fly back to Indianapolis today and begin working out. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder will participate in a couple of minicamps over the next two months before heading to training camp in late July. Cota said he hasn't put a timetable on his pro football career. "My body has been holding up well, and as long as that's the case, I'll keep going," he said. "I still love to compete, and the competition in the NFL is the best you're going to find. "Plus, I enjoy the lifestyle and the money is good. I'll play as long as I can." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.