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Over two dozen Colts players shave their heads in support of Chuck Pagano

Brian McIntyre

With Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano undergoing a second round of chemotherapy in his battle with leukemia, over two dozen of his players have shaved their heads to show their support of their head coach, Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star reports.

"It's all for Chuck," punter Pat McAfee said on Tuesday. "We all don't look good. I'm not built to have a bald head. I've got a huge sniffer.

"But we all love our coach so much that we want to show unity and let people know we're all in this together. It's a really cool thing."

According to Chappell, Colts director of player engagement David Thornton organized the demonstration of support for Pagano.

McAfee and defensive end Cory Redding, who played for Pagano with the Baltimore Ravens and followed him to Indianapolis on a three-year, $10.5 million contract on March 16, were the first to get their hair shorn, but were followed by quarterback Andrew Luck, kicker Adam Vinatieri, safety Antoine Bethea, running back Donald Brown, offensive linemen Anthony Castonzo and Joe Reitz, linebacker Kavell Conner, cornerback Darius Butler and wide receiver Nathan Palmer, among others.

[Related: Chuck Pagano gives truly inspiring speech at Colts game]

Long-snapper Matt Overton, who joined the Colts in 2012, provided a head's up on Twitter that heads would be shaved on Tuesday.

Overton also helpfully snapped a picture of himself, McAfee and Vinatieri after getting their heads shaved.

"By the time Thursday comes around I think you're going to see a very large number of bald-headed people playing for the Indianapolis Colts, all in support of our coach," McAfee added.

Pagano has been on indefinite leave since being diagnosed with leukemia on Sept. 26. The team has rallied around its leader and have gone 4-1 since, with its latest win coming in a 23-20 defeat of the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, a game that Pagano attended. The Colts may not be the most talented team in the league, and they're not blowing anyone out, but they've clearly come together as a team and that togetherness will make them a very difficult team to beat during the second half of the season.

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