FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Tom Moore listens to the endless questions about the Indianapolis offense, wondering what’s so complicated.

Then he responds with a standard line: It’s all about the players.

While many think the Colts’ no-huddle, wide-open system is full of complexities, Moore, the architect of Indy’s efficient, high-scoring style, prefers simplicity.

“It’s a players’ game and your job as a coach is to evaluate those players, understand their strengths and weaknesses and build around that,” Moore said Wednesday.

In 30 seasons as an NFL assistant, the 68-year-old Moore has never wavered when it comes to philosophy. Now he’ll get to see how it works against one of the NFL’s toughest defenses, the Chicago Bears’ active, fast and physical unit.

Moore hasn’t changed much since he came into the league, and he’s certainly not going to start now on the league’s biggest stage.

He’s ignored fashionable trends, new terminology and doesn’t buy into “gimmickry.” Yes, he’s refined some things, but there’s no reason to overhaul a system that’s succeeded at every stop.

As the receivers coach in Pittsburgh, Moore won two Super Bowls and produced two Hall of Fame wideouts in Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. In Minnesota, he helped resuscitate the career of Cris Carter, who finished with a franchise-record 1,004 catches before leaving for Miami in 2002. Moore’s offense also produced the first tandem of 100-catch receivers in 1995 – Herman Moore and Brett Perriman of Detroit – while Barry Sanders continued to be one of the league’s most dangerous runners, also headed for the Hall o Fame.

He even got a college quarterback named Tony Dungy noticed by NFL scouts at the University of Minnesota.

But the Colts are Moore’s masterpiece.

Indianapolis has produced at least 5,000 yards in offense each season since 1999 and scored at least 400 points in seven of the last nine. His star pupil, Peyton Manning, came aboard in 1998 and has won two MVP awards; Marvin Harrison has broken all of the franchise’s major career receiving records; and Edgerrin James left as a free agent last year as the Colts’ career rushing leader.

They’ve been rewriting the record books at a breakneck pace, and all along, Moore has labored in virtual anonymity because that’s how he believes it should be.

“It’s about the players, it’s not about me,” he said. “My job, my satisfaction, comes from giving them a chance to be the best they can be.”

In Indianapolis, Moore has prospered from more than Manning’s skill to read defenses or Harrison’s ability to get past defenders to win. He can also rely on continuity.

Since ’98, Moore has called plays, while Gene Huey coaches running backs and Howard Mudd the offensive line. Manning is still the quarterback, Harrison the go-to receiver and left tackle Tarik Glenn the blind-side protector. All three are going to the Pro Bowl next week, along with center Jeff Saturday and wideout Reggie Wayne.

And in Dungy’s five seasons with the Colts, there has been only one staff departure.

With today’s penchant for change in the NFL, Indianapolis has a rare luxury. No current offensive coordinator has stayed with his quarterback longer than Moore, and no quarterback has more freedom to change plays than Manning.

It works the same way with the rest of the coaching staff.

“Tom is comfortable with himself, like Tony is comfortable with himself,” Mudd said. “If I have an idea, I can go talk to him. We talk about it together, but usually we’re all on the same page anyway.”

Perhaps nobody understands Moore’s mind better than Dungy.

Moore recruited Dungy out of high school to run his offense with the Golden Gophers, and although they’ve worked together for five years in Indy, Dungy served with Moore for 10 years on the staffs in Pittsburgh and Minnesota.

Team president Bill Polian had already decided to retain Moore after firing Jim Mora in 2001, and Dungy was eager to keep him.

“He’s a special coach,” Dungy said. “When the job in Indianapolis came available, I wanted him to stay and was really glad he was here because they had put together an offense that was really just blossoming. He, Howard and Gene were already in place, so it was very comforting knowing I didn’t have to worry about that part of it.”

The Colts have flourished by using Moore’s playbook. Indy became the first team in league history to go 9-0 in consecutive seasons and the second team ever to win at least 12 games in four straight seasons. It has qualified for the playoffs five straight years, reached two AFC championship games and is now preparing for its first Super Bowl of the Indianapolis era.

Manning is still setting records, and while Moore makes it work, he avoids the spotlight. Instead, he runs his hands through his tousled white hair and graciously credits the players.

“It’s your obligation to do what you can so they do well,” Moore said. “It’s about the Indianapolis Colts, and it’s about Peyton Manning. It’s never been about me, and it shouldn’t be about me. It’s the players.”