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Stephen Holder interview with Jim Irsay


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50 minutes ago, TKnight24 said:

Like x10 

 

You need to be hired as an assistant for the Colts draft or something 

 

I'd replace Mixon with Derek Rivers or Tyus Bowser (in the early 3rd) perhaps, if we're taking Hunt. No reason to draft 2 RBs, especially with Gore and with Turbin resigned.

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3 hours ago, BProland85 said:

 

I highly doubt he'll go RB round 1 or 2. Probably 3 or 4 is my guess.

Since we have only excerpts of Holder's interview, and no real context..... perhaps since Irsay acknowledged needing several years of drafting to build out the team, when Mr. Irsay spoke of getting a RB sooner, rather than later, he simply meant "sooner" as in THIS year, as opposed to a future off-season?

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I have always liked Irsays interviews. I don't believe he is setting smoke screens and What he is saying rings true.  We do need a lot more picks.......because Ballard got rid of 1/3rd of our team.  Also, I think he is letting other teams know....hey, we want to trade down and we are looking for a trade partner.  

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2 hours ago, #12. said:

 

Here's my point.  If you're only looking for progress from a coach in year 6, something I'm not sure I've ever heard before, what does that say?  It says you know you hired the wrong guy.  It struck me as an odd thing to even say.  

 

Doesn't matter, it's just owner speak.  Chuck, as I'm sure he knows, is coaching for his job.

 

I think it says there are certain things out of Chuck's control...

 

That the Colts could go 10-6, and improvement,  but if the Texans go 11-5, and win the South,  it's not Pagano's fault,  and wouldn't necessarily mean Chuck would be fired.      

 

And I think it means that Irsay is publicly acknowledging that the roster is not very good and that's not Pagano's fault,  so expecting to chicken salad into filet mignon is not fair to Pagano and he'll be judged on a different sent of criteria than he has been in the past....   

 

And that would be....   Is the team well coached?     Are the Colts getting the most out of their roster?     That's it's not just a simple matter of wins and loses....    That the whole franchise is still dealing with the problems that Grigson left them.....

 

That's my view of Irsay's comment.

 

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2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Two things about it:

 

1) All we have are paraphrased tweet-comments at this point, so we don't really know what Irsay said about Pagano, yet.

 

2) I think every coach should make progress, every year. Whether Pagano suddenly leaps from "mediocre" to "really good" in one offseason is questionable, especially since virtually nothing has changed with the coaching staff. And I think that a good coach would have had this team in the playoffs last year, so it's fair to question Pagano. But to question whether he should be making progress is another story. He better doggone well be making progress.

 

Couple of thoughts.....

 

I don't view Pagano as "mediocre"....     I know many others here do....

 

I don't think Pagano was "mediocre" in 12, 13 and 14 when the team was going 11-5 each year.

 

So,  what changed?      In my view,  the quality of the roster changed.     Coaches don't typically regress, or get stupid over night.    So, when a team's performance drops as ours did,  then I view it more on the roster than I do on the coaching.

 

Speaking of which,  I wasn't expecting any coaching changes this off-season,  especially not in view of the fact that Pagano turned over roughly 40 percent of the coaching staff one year ago.     I think the staff gets at least another year to show what it can do....

 

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52 minutes ago, rock8591 said:

 

I'd replace Mixon with Derek Rivers or Tyus Bowser (in the early 3rd) perhaps, if we're taking Hunt. No reason to draft 2 RBs, especially with Gore and with Turbin resigned.

 

Gore will only be here 1 more year in my opinion and you need insurance for Mixon in case he doesn't pan out off the field. Plus it doesn't hurt having 2 legit RBs to keep each other fresh. I like Derek Rivers too, but since I already have Indy drafting Charles Harris with already having Sheard and Simon, I think they'd be okay there in 2017.

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3 hours ago, #12. said:

 

Here's my point.  If you're only looking for progress from a coach in year 6, something I'm not sure I've ever heard before, what does that say?  It says you know you hired the wrong guy.  It struck me as an odd thing to even say.  

 

Doesn't matter, it's just owner speak.  Chuck, as I'm sure he knows, is coaching for his job.

It sounds better than...."I couldn't get the guy I wanted the last two yrs so I'm stuck with Chuck for now."

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1 hour ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Couple of thoughts.....

 

I don't view Pagano as "mediocre"....     I know many others here do....

 

I don't think Pagano was "mediocre" in 12, 13 and 14 when the team was going 11-5 each year.

 

So,  what changed?      In my view,  the quality of the roster changed.     Coaches don't typically regress, or get stupid over night.    So, when a team's performance drops as ours did,  then I view it more on the roster than I do on the coaching.

 

Speaking of which,  I wasn't expecting any coaching changes this off-season,  especially not in view of the fact that Pagano turned over roughly 40 percent of the coaching staff one year ago.     I think the staff gets at least another year to show what it can do....

 

Different offensive coordinator. Different DC

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2 hours ago, rock8591 said:

 

I'd replace Mixon with Derek Rivers or Tyus Bowser (in the early 3rd) perhaps, if we're taking Hunt. No reason to draft 2 RBs, especially with Gore and with Turbin resigned.

De'Veon Smith & D'Onta Foreman are my two guys I want 

 

I'm not against taking 2 RB's with Gore being old & Ferguson possibly not working out 

 

I think we still have Todman though, so maybe not 2 draft picks to RB. I'll take De'Veon 

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1 hour ago, Coltfreak said:

Different offensive coordinator. Different DC

 

There was a different DC,  Monachino for Manusky.

 

But Chudzinski has been the OC for roughly the 2nd half of the 2015 season.   

 

And both were Pagano's call,  so I'm not sure what point you're trying to make?

 

Can you elaborate?

 

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7 hours ago, DougDew said:

He seems to be engaged in the draft selection process.  Duh.  I always thought he approved of TRich, Werner, and Dorsett.......

TRich was not drafted by the Colts. Your quickness to point a finger at Irsay in a negative light makes you overlook reality. Plus it is too early to say Dorsett was a bad pick.

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3 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Couple of thoughts.....

 

I don't view Pagano as "mediocre"....     I know many others here do....

 

I don't think Pagano was "mediocre" in 12, 13 and 14 when the team was going 11-5 each year.

 

So,  what changed?      In my view,  the quality of the roster changed.     Coaches don't typically regress, or get stupid over night.    So, when a team's performance drops as ours did,  then I view it more on the roster than I do on the coaching.

 

Speaking of which,  I wasn't expecting any coaching changes this off-season,  especially not in view of the fact that Pagano turned over roughly 40 percent of the coaching staff one year ago.     I think the staff gets at least another year to show what it can do....

 

 

No question the roster is deficient. But Pagano has been deficient himself, in ways. Remember, in 2015 when it was reported that the Colts hadn't offered him a long term extension, I was supportive of the team's stance.

 

I always thought Pagano could be better schematically, could gameplan better, make better adjustments, etc. I've never liked what seems to be his preferred offense. I think he has made some critical mistakes at crucial junctures of games -- the Detroit timeout, for instance; or punting against New England in the 2013 playoff game (which we weren't going to win, but it was still the wrong call). I could rack my brain for other examples.

 

When the Colts were winning 11 games each year, outside of 2012, there was always a stretch of the season where things were tougher than they needed to be. In 2013 and 2014, the Colts got blown out by mediocre teams (Rams, Cardinals) and then got stomped by good teams (Steelers, Patriots). 

 

You know how I feel about the offense, especially in light of how difficult it's been to build the OL.

 

There are other things he's done for which he deserves credit. He manages his players well, he's a great motivator, an outstanding person, a good leader, etc. These are qualities that, for the most part, you either have or you don't. Pagano has them.

 

But to me, there are great coaches, good coaches, mediocre coaches, and bad coaches. To me, a good coach would adjust the offense to make things easier on the QB and take pressure off of the OL. A good coach, especially one with a defensive background, wouldn't routinely give up 40 points to good offensive teams (and if we really dig into those Pats/Steelers losses, the defense got shredded over and over again). A good coach would have good game and clock management skills. 

 

I'm not the person that's always going to rag on the coach. He's our coach, until he isn't. It's my hope that he gets better, because that's best case scenario for my team, and honestly, I like him. But right now, I don't think he qualifies as a good coach. I'm not undermining the good things he's done, and I'm not pretending like it's unheard of for a coach to get better, and I'm definitely not going to pout in every thread about him still being here. But he's got to earn the label of a good coach.

 

He's certainly not a bad coach.

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2 hours ago, Superman said:

 

No question the roster is deficient. But Pagano has been deficient himself, in ways. Remember, in 2015 when it was reported that the Colts hadn't offered him a long term extension, I was supportive of the team's stance.

 

I always thought Pagano could be better schematically, could gameplan better, make better adjustments, etc. I've never liked what seems to be his preferred offense. I think he has made some critical mistakes at crucial junctures of games -- the Detroit timeout, for instance; or punting against New England in the 2013 playoff game (which we weren't going to win, but it was still the wrong call). I could rack my brain for other examples.

 

When the Colts were winning 11 games each year, outside of 2012, there was always a stretch of the season where things were tougher than they needed to be. In 2013 and 2014, the Colts got blown out by mediocre teams (Rams, Cardinals) and then got stomped by good teams (Steelers, Patriots). 

 

You know how I feel about the offense, especially in light of how difficult it's been to build the OL.

 

There are other things he's done for which he deserves credit. He manages his players well, he's a great motivator, an outstanding person, a good leader, etc. These are qualities that, for the most part, you either have or you don't. Pagano has them.

 

But to me, there are great coaches, good coaches, mediocre coaches, and bad coaches. To me, a good coach would adjust the offense to make things easier on the QB and take pressure off of the OL. A good coach, especially one with a defensive background, wouldn't routinely give up 40 points to good offensive teams (and if we really dig into those Pats/Steelers losses, the defense got shredded over and over again). A good coach would have good game and clock management skills. 

 

I'm not the person that's always going to rag on the coach. He's our coach, until he isn't. It's my hope that he gets better, because that's best case scenario for my team, and honestly, I like him. But right now, I don't think he qualifies as a good coach. I'm not undermining the good things he's done, and I'm not pretending like it's unheard of for a coach to get better, and I'm definitely not going to pout in every thread about him still being here. But he's got to earn the label of a good coach.

 

He's certainly not a bad coach.

This is a good and fair post.  

 

However, why is it virtually the same cast of characters who are always there in the playoffs every year and they unsurprisingly are the teams with good front offices and the elite QBs?  By the way, we Were a member of that group until our elite QB was injured.   While I think you make a valid point, it just seems elite QBs, good FOs and good defenses matter more in this league.  Besides, I don't see many great coaches in the league and I dont see many good coaches who consistently win despite average teams.  Example, Carolina.  Super Bowl one year, toilet bowl the next.  Same coach.  Different defense.  I'm not saying we can't do better than  Pagano, but a really good defense would have kept us in the AFC championship game vs NE, but a better coach with the same team would have made very little difference.  Jmo. 

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6 hours ago, LockeDown said:

I have always liked Irsays interviews. I don't believe he is setting smoke screens and What he is saying rings true.  We do need a lot more picks.......because Ballard got rid of 1/3rd of our team.  Also, I think he is letting other teams know....hey, we want to trade down and we are looking for a trade partner.  

Last year he said they very high on GOOD AND NOT drafting a T,not drafting a T, not drafting a T.

 

In the 3rd round they Drafted Clark, A Tackle.

I wouldn't. try and read too much in Irsay's interviews.

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One big lesson that Pagano needs to learn is to be more like Bellichek. Bellichek is actively involved in preparing, analyzing during the game and adjusting throughout the game. Pagano is a good motivator/communicator but he needs to sharpen his analytical skills. Bellichek is the opposite. His analytical skills are off the chart with limited communication skill. Players and his coaches respect Bellichek because he is the PROFESSOR. Hope Pagano/his coaching staff can turn the corner this year, if not this might be their last year.

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7 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I think it says there are certain things out of Chuck's control...

 

That the Colts could go 10-6, and improvement,  but if the Texans go 11-5, and win the South,  it's not Pagano's fault,  and wouldn't necessarily mean Chuck would be fired.      

 

And I think it means that Irsay is publicly acknowledging that the roster is not very good and that's not Pagano's fault,  so expecting to chicken salad into filet mignon is not fair to Pagano and he'll be judged on a different sent of criteria than he has been in the past....   

 

And that would be....   Is the team well coached?     Are the Colts getting the most out of their roster?     That's it's not just a simple matter of wins and loses....    That the whole franchise is still dealing with the problems that Grigson left them.....

 

That's my view of Irsay's comment.

 

Of course that's your view, you're clearly biased and want him to stay.

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28 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher said:

Last year he said they very high on GOOD AND NOT drafting a T,not drafting a T, not drafting a T.

 

In the 3rd round they Drafted Clark, A Tackle.

I wouldn't. try and read too much in Irsay's interviews.

 He said Luck won't play till he is healed...Ballard is doing a great job...we want more picks...mentioned several obvious positions we need...I think it's safe for me to believe those things.  

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1 minute ago, LockeDown said:

 He said Luck won't play till he is healed...Ballard is doing a great job...we want more picks...mentioned several obvious positions we need...I think it's safe for me to believe those things.  

You mean Luck won't play if he's hurt?....of course he wont.

 

Ballard has not done anything yet to warrant saying he's doing a great job.....but what do you expect him to say ? ...my new gm is doing a average job?

 

It was said at the combine the colts inquired with Bengals to about moving up for their pick at #9.

 

Point is there's. no telling what may or may not happen. And whatever Irsay or Ballard say beforehand will not change that.

 

 

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25 minutes ago, ManningGM said:

Of course that's your view, you're clearly biased and want him to stay.

 

So, why aren't you clearly biased because you want him fired?    This goes both ways you know?

 

I''m giving you my view, my interpretation of what the team owner said.    If you've got a different interpretation of Irsay's words,  let's have them right here...

 

Step up and be heard....

 

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1 hour ago, LJpalmbeacher said:

Last year he said they very high on GOOD AND NOT drafting a T,not drafting a T, not drafting a T.

 

In the 3rd round they Drafted Clark, A Tackle.

I wouldn't. try and read too much in Irsay's interviews.

 

I don't recall Irsay saying they have no interest, or intention or desire to NOT draft a tackle?     I'm not saying you're wrong,  only I don't recall that.

 

Because I wasn't surprised that we drafted a tackle.     I ***WAS*** surprised that we drafted 4 offensive lineman, but not that we drafted a tackle....

 

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7 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I think it says there are certain things out of Chuck's control...

 

That the Colts could go 10-6, and improvement,  but if the Texans go 11-5, and win the South,  it's not Pagano's fault,  and wouldn't necessarily mean Chuck would be fired.      

 

And I think it means that Irsay is publicly acknowledging that the roster is not very good and that's not Pagano's fault,  so expecting to chicken salad into filet mignon is not fair to Pagano and he'll be judged on a different sent of criteria than he has been in the past....   

 

And that would be....   Is the team well coached?     Are the Colts getting the most out of their roster?     That's it's not just a simple matter of wins and loses....    That the whole franchise is still dealing with the problems that Grigson left them.....

 

That's my view of Irsay's comment.

 

 

Also he may want to Fire him Again BUT again cant get a suitable coach to replace him.

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31 minutes ago, ManningGM said:

Of course that's your view, you're clearly biased and want him to stay.

 

One other thing....

 

I'm not married to Pagano.     If we can hire a better coach,  I'm all for it.     I've just cautioned people here for a long time that hiring a better coach is much easier said than done.     Hiring a very good coach in any sport is one of the hardest thing to do.

 

The year Pagano was hired, I think there were 8 head coaches hired.     Only Pagano is still with their team.    All those other teams were as optimistic as the Colts were 5 years ago.     But getting the right guy is hard.    You could fire Pagano and easily end up with worse.

 

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3 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I don't recall Irsay saying they have no interest, or intention or desire to NOT draft a tackle?     I'm not saying you're wrong,  only I don't recall that.

 

Because I wasn't surprised that we drafted a tackle.     I ***WAS*** surprised that we drafted 4 offensive lineman, but not that we drafted a tackle....

 

 

Irsay DEFINITELY. said their not looking at Tackles because they really like Good.

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2 minutes ago, LJpalmbeacher said:

 

Also he may want to Fire him Again BUT again cant get a suitable coach to replace him.

 

That's entirely possible.     But that's my point.    The firing part is easy.    The hiring a new coach that's better is much, Much, MUCH harder.

 

And Irsay,  to his credit,  knows it.

 

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I think some of you needs to go to Colts.com and listen to what Irsay actually is saying (there are a couple of video clips) instead of only relying on Holders take on his words. You should get a pretty clear idea about the draft and Pagano by doing that. Time well spend, I promise.

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6 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

That's entirely possible.     But that's my point.    The firing part is easy.    The hiring a new coach that's better is much, Much, MUCH harder.

 

And Irsay,  to his credit,  knows it.

 

With 128 college football coaches that could join the NFL, 31 other NFL teams (not counting the Colts), and a large handful of other, unsigned coaches, that leaves a large number of options that Irsay could sign every year. Of course, probably 75-80% of college coaches are under contract, so you have to weigh the risk vs reward of "is this batch of coaches worth signing someone over next year's", and "is it worth keeping Pagano one more year as well knowing that?" Lot of variables to figure out and you can't really miss on your decision, or it could hurt for 3-5 years.

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17 minutes ago, Mr Clueless said:

I think some of you needs to go to Colts.com and listen to what Irsay actually is saying (there are a couple of video clips) instead of only relying on Holders take on his words. You should get a pretty clear idea about the draft and Pagano by doing that. Time well spend, I promise.

but...... I thought we were on Colts.com. haha

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12 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

I don't know what you read in those tweets that gave you the impression that Pagano is a lame duck coach.

 

His comments struck me as quite the opposite.    I thought Irsay did a nice job of cooling the seat the Pagano sits  on,   NOT making it hotter...

 

 

10 hours ago, LockeDown said:

I have always liked Irsays interviews. I don't believe he is setting smoke screens and What he is saying rings true.  We do need a lot more picks.......because Ballard got rid of 1/3rd of our team.  Also, I think he is letting other teams know....hey, we want to trade down and we are looking for a trade partner.  

 

2 hours ago, ManningGM said:

Of course that's your view, you're clearly biased and want him to stay.

 


Bob Quinn, 16 years in New England,  became GM of Detroit Lions. Jim Caldwell, was (lame duck?) the Head Coach. On whether he will retain or 'Fire Jim Caldwell' -

 

“I was introduced to coach Caldwell this morning for the first time,” Quinn said at his introductory press conference today. “That process has yet to start. No timetable yet.” he also said he simply doesn’t know yet whether his own philosophy for building a team meshes with Caldwell’s.  Quinn added that the marriage between the coaching staff and the personnel department is the most important thing he learned during his time in New England.

 

He kept Jim while evaluating other potential replacements, and how they compare to Jim.

"I spent a lot of time with Jim the first couple days when I first got there and made the decision to keep Jim and his staff and I think looking back at it that was probably the easiest and best decision I made."

This past season, Lions were 9 - 4 but lost their last 3 games straight to go 9 - 7.  But he still didn't fire Jim-

Bob Quinn indicated Thursday that decision to bring back Caldwell for a 4th season was made before a postseason berth was in hand.

"I really believe in his approach to managing the team, how he practices the team, how he maintains the health of the team," Quinn explained in his end-of-season news conference Thursday. "So, listen, winning nine games is good. It’s not good enough. But I felt really comfortable with the way things went this year. I’m looking forward to 2017 with Jim."


Asked if he still felt comfortable with that decision given the Lions' 0-4 finish, Quinn said,
"Absolutely. I didn’t know coach Caldwell a year ago," Quinn said. "I sat down with him for a while and we talked for a couple of days back last January, and every day Jim is really very consistent and I really enjoyed working with him, I really enjoyed the day-to-day interactions that we have, which are multiple. I mean, the rug between my office and his office gets worn out between the two of us. So it’s a really great working relationship and I really have a great feel in being able to see him deal with the team, starting back with the OTAs into the season, training camp, and it’s a consistent message. And I really think that’s what you need as a head coach. You can’t have a head coach that’s too high or too low."

 

This proves a coach from the Patriots can keep a coach form the Colts... wait... I mean that a new GM with ideas to replace the HC with his own guy can develop a working relationship and instead keep the old HC on board.  In Jim Caldwell's case, at least finish out his contract. 

 

So it is not out of the realm something similar 'could' happen between Chris Ballard and Chuck Pagano.  Or, to polar opposite.  We do not know yet.  But for those who can't wait for the year to close so Chuck is kicked to the curb...  it's not a done deal.

 

This is what came to mind to me when I saw Irsay's comments. And it seems any 'restraints' on Pagano {Grigson} have been removed and Ballard and Irsay will honestly assess the 'new  Chuckstrong' next year and go from there.

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2 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

That's entirely possible.     But that's my point.    The firing part is easy.    The hiring a new coach that's better is much, Much, MUCH harder.

 

And Irsay,  to his credit,  knows it.

 

The old saying be careful of what you want may be true here in Indy.

I understand with some of the negative things said about Pagano but the reality is he has yet to have a losing season. IMO he may have done his best coaching year before after going 8-8 without Luck and his offensive line getting 5 QBs pounded into the turf. That tells me the players never gave up playing for Pagano. The game plan that year against Denver was the one shining moment in that season. So IMO he is fully capable of being a head coach.

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6 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

TRich was not drafted by the Colts. Your quickness to point a finger at Irsay in a negative light makes you overlook reality. Plus it is too early to say Dorsett was a bad pick.

And put TJ Green into that group.  

 

My overall point is that Irsay's own words suggest that he is much more involved in the draft process than some other owners.  We all know Jerry Jones is involved with his team, and that he has made that involvement very public.  

 

Just take that into account when we have discussions about players being drafted, signed, cut, or any other player/personnel decisions.

 

This forum seems to think that when player decisions are made, they are the singular decision of an iron-fisted GM.

 

Irsay's own words suggest that it is a group effort, a group contribution of thoughts.......and that player decisions, at least the important draft picks and free agent signings or cuts, cannot be attributed to one person.

 

 I'm sure the GM has final say...that's his job...but he's not going to go too far against the thoughts of his owner or even HC.  It just doesn't work that way in real life, IMO.

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