INDIANAPOLIS -- There's a truck in the parking lot of the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, the Indianapolis Colts' practice facility, advertising the team's schedule on the back panel.

Next to the schedule is not the face of the near-certain Hall of Fame quarterback nor the visages of the perennial Pro Bowl defensive end, wide receiver or tight end. It's the face of Jim Caldwell.

In his first year as the head coach of the Colts, Caldwell has joined Peyton Manning, Dwight Freeney, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark as the faces of the franchise. And with top-seeded Indianapolis set to take on the Ravens in an AFC divisional playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium here tonight, the transition from Tony Dungy to Caldwell has been relatively seamless.

But whereas Dungy compiled a 92-33 record in seven years in Indianapolis and helped hoist a Lombardi Trophy to cap the 2006 season, Caldwell is in the beginning stages of a career that is still in its infancy.

That's why Caldwell isn't giving much weight to being compared to Dungy.

"I think that's simply because of the way we look at it," said Caldwell, who turns 55 today. "We're not in competition. What we're trying to do is maintain the standard of excellence we've had here and really build upon the platform that was already in place. That's kind of the way we've approached it from the beginning."

It helps that Caldwell, who was an assistant coach with the Colts for seven years before succeeding Dungy, inherited a personnel grouping that includes the aforementioned stars. Not many rookie head coaches get that lucky.

But with that kind of star power comes high expectations. A 14-0 start, the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye have heightened the pressure surrounding the Colts and Caldwell.

But if Caldwell is feeling anxious, he's not publicizing those feelings - or showing them to his players.

"I don't really sense that," Freeney said. "That is always a built-in pressure when you talk about the playoffs. Obviously, we know if we lose, we go home. I think that's already built in. I haven't sensed any added pressure."

That doesn't mean Caldwell isn't willing to strike out on his own path. When he became the head coach, he replaced defensive coordinator Ron Meeks with Larry Coyer and dropped special teams coordinator Russ Purnell for Ray Rychleski, a former Maryland assistant. Caldwell also added former Terps and Buffalo Bills quarterback Frank Reich as the quarterbacks coach.

Caldwell was the target of intense criticism when he pulled the starters midway through an eventual loss to the New York Jets that gave Indianapolis its first loss after the 14-0 start. Caldwell reiterated his stance that postseason success is more important than regular-season perfection.

"I think still, all in all, we have to do what's in the best interest of what we think in terms of the football team," he said. "You have to take other things into consideration, but most important are the guys that play this game, putting them in the best position to have an opportunity to win it all."

Caldwell isn't shy about showing his dismay or frustration about the team's performances in games and practices. Defensive end Robert Mathis said Caldwell has raised his voice a few times when addressing the players.

"Coach Caldwell has been around since I've been here, and I'd never heard him say more than two words a week," Mathis said, adding that Caldwell's biggest emotional display is an occasional fist-pump. "So now that he's the head coach, he's the man. So we're going to ride with him."

But Caldwell has been careful about tinkering too much with an offense that has been one of the most prolific in NFL history, leaving that unit in the capable hands of senior offensive coordinator Tom Moore and Manning.

"I think he's very smart, and I think he understands that we've had a good thing going here for the last few years," Clark said. "I think it would be naive of him to come in [and say], 'This is my way, this is my team, I'm going to do it this way,' and just come in and start breaking things up. I think he was very smart in the way of keeping things the same that he felt were working and tweaking little things here and there that he wanted to change."

Caldwell agreed with Clark, saying: "We didn't come in and just make outlandish, unnecessary changes just to say we were going to put our stamp on things. We certainly wanted to keep the things that worked for us, and we've had a lot of things that we've done awfully well around here. I think it would be a bit egotistical just to make changes for the sake of change. It's that old quote of 'Be careful of the person who wants to change everything or the person who wants to change nothing.' I think we were somewhere in between."

Caldwell is three wins from joining the Baltimore Colts' Don McCafferty and the San Francisco 49ers' George Seifert as the only rookie head coaches to guide their teams to Super Bowl championships. Already the most successful first-year head coach in NFL history, Caldwell said he understands that the jury is still out on his work with Indianapolis.

"I think the real key is what you do this time of the year. That's the difference," he said. "And I think that's how everybody is judged in this league. So I'd like to be judged that exact same way. It's, 'Can you get your team to the biggest game and vie for the most coveted trophy there is in professional team sports? And can you win it? Not just get there, but can you win it?' The road getting there is obviously tough, and first things first. We've got a real tough challenge ahead of us this weekend."