Jim Irsay Rated NFL's 2nd Best Owner

[HarassedOffTheSite]

http://blogs.colts.com/2013/05/15/right-on-josh/?campaign=tw_blog__20130516_8026214

 

 

...the 53-year-old Jim is an absolute godsend for Colts fans. Even without the shadow of his father, though, Jim Irsay is one of the most fun owners around. He plays around on Twitter, and he gives away free stuff to his followers. Plus, he hires the right kind of personnel — general manager Ryan Grigson so far, coach Tony Dungy and Jim Caldwell (for a time, anyway) — and the organization’s decision to draft Peyton Manning rather than Ryan Leaf in 1998 was obviously a huge difference-maker. But Irsay is an empathetic sort, and the sendoff given to Manning by Irsay and the Colts was representative of the NFL that we’d like to see more often. Not to mention how the team handled Chuck Pagano’s cancer scare last season. Irsay is fun, and his team has been successful since he took over in 1997.

[Tark The Shark]

I almost figured that Jerry Jones might be on the list. But the Super Bowl debacle a couple years ago lost him a lot of recognition.

 

Also Shad Khan? I think it is a little early to put him on the list. 

 

And no love for Bud Adams or Paul Allen?

[GoColts8818]

About where Irsay should be ranked IMO.

[coltsfanatic24]

I agree with the list but it's too early to put Shad Khan on there.

[Kyle]

I was thinking "wow, very cool for Irsay to get some appreciation".  Then I see #8 Shad Khan and the writer lost all credibility in my mind.

 

In his first year owning the team, he drafted a punter in the 3rd round.  Shad Khan should be the #32 ranked owner in the NFL.

[NewColtsFan]

I was thinking "wow, very cool for Irsay to get some appreciation".  Then I see #8 Shad Khan and the writer lost all credibility in my mind.

 

In his first year owning the team, he drafted a punter in the 3rd round.  Shad Khan should be the #32 ranked owner in the NFL.

 

The owner didn't draft a punter in the 3rd round.....    the GM/HC drafted a punter in the 3rd round.

 

And maybe,  that's one of the many reasons that the team has a NEW general manager and a NEW head coach?!?

 

Hmmmm????

[House]

Nope cuz tweeting.

[Kyle]

The owner didn't draft a punter in the 3rd round.....    the GM/HC drafted a punter in the 3rd round.

 

And maybe,  that's one of the many reasons that the team has a NEW general manager and a NEW head coach?!?

 

Hmmmm????

well i didnt expect someone to actually try to defend Shad Khan....  So if he should not be off the list because the old GM and coach doing the decision making, then he is on the list due to 1 off season and a season that hasnt happened yet????   Shad Khan has done nothing to improve Jax IMO

[BOTT]

well i didnt expect someone to actually try to defend Shad Khan....  So if he should not be off the list because the old GM and coach doing the decision making, then he is on the list due to 1 off season and a season that hasnt happened yet????   Shad Khan has done nothing to improve Jax IMO

He might not deserve to be on the list quite yet, but after seeing him on Charlie Rose it's hard not to be impressed.

[NewColtsFan]

well i didnt expect someone to actually try to defend Shad Khan....  So if he should not be off the list because the old GM and coach doing the decision making, then he is on the list due to 1 off season and a season that hasnt happened yet????   Shad Khan has done nothing to improve Jax IMO

 

I'm not necessarily supporting the idea that he's one of the best owners in the NFL.    Far from it.

 

Only that he played no roll in the punter draft and he fired the GM and HC that did.     He's hired a new GM and HC and both are getting good early reviews.      Certainly not enough to get on a list of top owners,  but at least the right first steps.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

In his (Kahn) first year owning the team, he drafted a punter in the 3rd round.

 

 

The owner didn't draft a punter in the 3rd round.....    the GM/HC drafted a punter in the 3rd round. And maybe,  that's one of the many reasons that the team has a NEW general manager and a NEW head coach?

 

 

well i didnt expect...

 

 

...he played no roll in the punter draft and he fired the GM and HC that did.

 

 

NewColtsFan is right, Kyle you were wrong.

 

Regardless, my understanding is that Kahn has been making some pretty sound decisions. But he definitely has not done anywhere near enough to break the top 30.

[Nadine]

Poor Khan, he got a franchise in not so great shape. No where to go but up!

He has had a few missteps with the fans from what I've seen but hopefully he rights that ship

 

I wouldn't rank the way this writer has ranked but, I think Irsay deserves mention on this list for sure. 

[Kyle]

NewColtsFan is right, Kyle you were wrong.

 

Regardless, my understanding is that Kahn has been making some pretty sound decisions. But he definitely has not done anywhere near enough to break the top 30.

 

 

I'm not necessarily supporting the idea that he's one of the best owners in the NFL.    Far from it.

 

Only that he played no roll in the punter draft and he fired the GM and HC that did.     He's hired a new GM and HC and both are getting good early reviews.      Certainly not enough to get on a list of top owners,  but at least the right first steps.

 

I was under the assumption it was the first draft that took place with him as owner.  I get that he didnt hire the guys who drafted the punter but....i did think he was the owner at that time.  I could definitely be wrong, i have been once or twice before.

 

 

that being said, I agree that firing the old GM and coach was smart but anyone can do that.  The hard part is hiring the right people, and they have not done ANYTHING yet.  

 

I may have jumped the gun on saying Shad Khan is the worst owner in the NFL.  I can't say that he has not done ANYTHING yet to prove the point that you can't put him on the list of the best GMs, and then at the same time put him on my list as the worst GM.  Too early to say anything about the man except he has a sick mustache. LOL

[crazycolt1]

Nope cuz tweeting.

Exactly what does tweeting have to do with being an owner?  In case you don't know Irsay has a very long list of tweeter followers. Most take his tweeting way to serious. For those who follow him find him pretty funny.  Don't hate on what you don't know. 

[JoKeR]

Nope cuz tweeting.

Tweeting is probably the easiest way to connect to fans yet almost none of the owners do it. Why? Because they're not interested in mingling with their fans so much but Jim Irsay is!

[GoColts8818]

Nope cuz tweeting.

Okay other than some people not liking the fact he's on twitter how has that exactly hurt him as an Owner?

 

I think when people say stuff like that it goes back to them seeing what they want to see. They don't like that he's on twitter thus they want to use it against him as an owner.  Even though ranking him as an owner for being on twitter is like saying a QB can't be a good QB just because he does commercials.  In reality rather a QB does commercials has very little to do with the product you see on the field.  Same with Irsay being on twitter it has little impact with how the franchise preforms as a whole.

 

The truth is nothing he's done on twitter had really negatively impacted him as an owner.  His team has been extremely successfully by just about any measurement over the course of the time he has owned the team and is light years beyond where the team was under his father.  The only negative impact that has come from him being on twitter is some criticism from the media about him being on twitter and it was a member of the media who just made the case for him being the second best owner in football so clearly even that isn't having that big of an impact. 

[House]

Okay other than some people not liking the fact he's on twitter how has that exactly hurt him as an Owner?

I think when people say stuff like that it goes back to them seeing what they want to see. They don't like that he's on twitter thus they want to use it against him as an owner. Even though ranking him as an owner for being on twitter is like saying a QB can't be a good QB just because he does commercials. In reality rather a QB does commercials has very little to do with the product you see on the field. Same with Irsay being on twitter it has little impact with how the franchise preforms as a whole.

The truth is nothing he's done on twitter had really negatively impacted him as an owner. His team has been extremely successfully by just about any measurement over the course of the time he has owned the team and is light years beyond where the team was under his father. The only negative impact that has come from him being on twitter is some criticism from the media about him being on twitter and it was a member of the media who just made the case for him being the second best owner in football so clearly even that isn't having that big of an impact.

You know I was making fun of people who base their entire opinion of Jim around just the fact he tweets odd things occasionally right?

[House]

Exactly what does tweeting have to do with being an owner? In case you don't know Irsay has a very long list of tweeter followers. Most take his tweeting way to serious. For those who follow him find him pretty funny. Don't hate on what you don't know.

See above.

[Qwiz]

Exactly what does tweeting have to do with being an owner?  In case you don't know Irsay has a very long list of tweeter followers. Most take his tweeting way to serious. For those who follow him find him pretty funny.  Don't hate on what you don't know. 

*twitter

[GoColts8818]

You know I was making fun of people who base their entire opinion of Jim around just the fact he tweets odd things occasionally right?

 

 

See above.

I think it's a safe say then your original post didn't come across like a joke to everyone then. 

 

With that said if it's a joke then cool I know I don't have an issue with it. 

[House]

I think it's a safe say then your original post didn't come across like a joke to everyone then.

You two were the only ones who responded to my original post .

Lol I think that says more about the seriousness of these boards sometimes than anything else, but hey that's just me.

I couldn't used an emote, but I was going for something a little more subtle.

[GoColts8818]

You two were the only ones who responded to my original post .

Lol I think that says more about the seriousness of these boards sometimes than anything else, but hey that's just me.

I couldn't used an emote, but I was going for something a little more subtle.

It's cool, just didn't read like a joke to me.  Like I've said in the past that's the problem with the internet, sometimes subtle humor doesn't always work because there isn't tone or body clues to go with it and frankly people have said stuff like that and meant it.  I think that's the bigger issue to why a joke like that doesn't always fly more so than people always taking stuff serious.  They kinda have to because people sadly are serious at times when they say stuff (not saying you were.) 

 

With that said no harm no foul at least IMO. 

[House]

It's cool, just didn't read like a joke to me. Like I've said in the past that's the problem with the internet, sometimes subtle humor doesn't always work because there isn't tone or body clues to go with it and frankly people have said stuff like that and meant it. I think that's the bigger issue to why a joke like that doesn't always fly more so than people always taking stuff serious. They kinda have to because people sadly are serious at times when they say stuff (not saying you were.)

With that said no harm no foul at least IMO.

That was suppose to be part of the joke, that people really think that way. That's why I used "cuz" to make it seem very offhanded and ill thought out.

Oh well can't win them all

[derek]

wow he's only 53, looks waaaay older

[SOMDColtsfan]

I appreciate what Irsay has done with this franchise. I come from the old Colts days, this franchise was the mockery of the NFL. It didn't happen over night but Jim Irsay made all the right moves, hindsight maybe, and did bring the Colts back to their rightful place among the NFL elite. To each his own on his twittering, IMO he`s just trying to be a fan like us which I think is kind of cool

[Warhorse]

You two were the only ones who responded to my original post .

Lol I think that says more about the seriousness of these boards sometimes than anything else, but hey that's just me.

I couldn't used an emote, but I was going for something a little more subtle.

Subtle humor...that is a delivery that our poster Jaric did not have. Where did that scoundrel go anyway?

[OldSchoolColt]

Funny how the Irsay family is so loved in Indy when I remember him talking of going to LA if we didn't build a new stadium. If Peyton had not come along, Indy may not have a team and the Irsay name would be hated as much as it was in Baltimore.

[The Old Crow]

Funny how the Irsay family is so loved in Indy when I remember him talking of going to LA if we didn't build a new stadium. If Peyton had not come along, Indy may not have a team and the Irsay name would be hated as much as it was in Baltimore.

 

 

Yeah, that part was kind of left out in " The Move to Indianapolis" - The True Story.

[Nadine]

Funny how the Irsay family is so loved in Indy when I remember him talking of going to LA if we didn't build a new stadium. If Peyton had not come along, Indy may not have a team and the Irsay name would be hated as much as it was in Baltimore.

 

I think that LA courted and then rejected the colts, and the rumor is.........because they didn't like Irsay

http://www.ibj.com/the-score/2009/12/14/indianapolis-colts-the-team-la-didnt-want/PARAMS/post/15117

 

I do not believe he ever said 'build me a new stadium or I will leave' because I do not think it ever went that far. He never commented on the situation.  He did visit LA, that's all.

 

The LA thing is interesting because it is a massive media market and yet no team http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Football_League_in_Los_Angeles

 

LA still hopes that some team will ask to transfer http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/29/sports/la-sp-dwyre-nfl-20130330

 

.The situation is curious.

 

No doubt Peyton turned indy into a football town.  Who knows what would happen without him,Indy is among the smaller media markets.

[The Old Crow]

http://blogs.colts.com/2013/05/15/right-on-josh/?campaign=tw_blog__20130516_8026214

 

 

Recalling how Peyton Manning in his last season said, " This in not a good place for healing, and it's not a real good environment." "Everybody is walking on eggshells." Jim Irsay then called Peyton Manning a " politician," who cast the horseshoe in a negative light. I'm not really sure that this sendoff was totally empathetic, and representative of the NFL that we'd like to see more often.

 

In fairness, it was a cold, calculated decision to release Manning, and not an empathetic and happy send-off. That being said, in all fairness, he is a top ten owner. Perhaps he is number 1 in fan interaction and wacky twitter comments. As an owner , his regular season record is very good, and his one Super Bowl in 15 years in above average, if that is a criteria. The total Irsay family ownership of one Super Bowl in 40 years is probably below average. In all fairness, I would probably rank Jim Irsay at 6 , behind the Packers Executive committee, Krafts, Bisciottis, Rooneys, and Mara/Tisch. I'd place him ahead of Jerry Jones because Jones , after initial successes, has turned his franchise into a mess. You could theorectically place Bowlen of Denver ahead of Irsay, if Denver wins this year. You could flip flop those two, which would put him in the 6-7 category, which would be fair. If the Colts win a Super Bowl in the next few years, Jim Irsay's stock as owner would rise considerably, because of the sterling regular season records, and division titles.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

Funny how the Irsay family is so loved in Indy when I remember him talking of going to LA if we didn't build a new stadium. If Peyton had not come along, Indy may not have a team and the Irsay name would be hated as much as it was in Baltimore.

 

Smacks of the same ol'old school Baltimore fan. Anyway...

 

I think that LA courted and then rejected the colts, and the rumor is.........because they didn't like Irsay

 

My understanding was that the league owners were kind of sour on Irsay running "the" franchise that returned the NFL to Los Angeles because of concerns vis-a-vis some of his previous issues with substance abuse. And they did not want to run the risk of having the whole thing devolve into an embarrassing spectacle.

 

I do not believe he ever said 'build me a new stadium or I will leave'...

 

Nope, never did. And he made it quite clear that his desire was to remain in Indianapolis. If he visited Los Angeles (implied for the express purpose of discussing moving the Franchise there) then it would've been a smart business move (just like his Father visiting other cities before the city of Baltimore attempted to sieze the franchise was).

[The Old Crow]

I think that LA courted and then rejected the colts, and the rumor is.........because they didn't like Irsay

http://www.ibj.com/the-score/2009/12/14/indianapolis-colts-the-team-la-didnt-want/PARAMS/post/15117

 

I do not believe he ever said 'build me a new stadium or I will leave' because I do not think it ever went that far. He never commented on the situation.  He did visit LA, that's all.

 

The LA thing is interesting because it is a massive media market and yet no team http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Football_League_in_Los_Angeles

 

LA still hopes that some team will ask to transfer http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/29/sports/la-sp-dwyre-nfl-20130330

 

.The situation is curious.

 

No doubt Peyton turned indy into a football town.  Who knows what would happen without him,Indy is among the smaller media markets.

 

The ironic thing about the Rams deal was that is how the Irsays got into NFL ownership by swapping the Los Angeles Rams for the Baltimore Colts in 1972. We got Bob Irsay, and LA got Carroll Rosenbloom , which eventually morphed into Georgia Frontierre. Both teams ended up relocating eventually, so that swap ended up a disaster for Baltimore and LA. All I can tell you is if an Irsay starts shopping a team to another city, or tells you to build a new stadium, you'd better do it.

 

 The other irony in all of this, is the Al Davis move made it nearly impossible for the NFL to block any kind of future franchise movement. It didn't matter if the franchise was profitable in the city where they were already at, didn't care about the fans, didn't care about the financial state of the city at the time, it was all about putting even more profits in the owner's pocket. That is why I think the Green Bay model is the best one in the NFL. I love the fact  that a city owns an NFL team, so that they are never under financial leverage from a greedy owner.

[The Old Crow]

Smacks of the same ol'old school Baltimore fan. Anyway...

 

 

My understanding was that the league owners were kind of sour on Irsay running "the" franchise that returned the NFL to Los Angeles because of concerns vis-a-vis some of his previous issues with substance abuse. And they did not want to run the risk of having the whole thing devolve into an embarrassing spectacle.

 

 

Nope, never did. And he made it quite clear that his desire was to remain in Indianapolis. If he visited Los Angeles (implied for the express purpose of discussing moving the Franchise there) then it would've been a smart business move (just like his Father visiting other cities before the city of Baltimore attempted to sieze the franchise was).

 

1. Smacks of revisionist current Indy Fan.

 

2. LA didn't want to be used like Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Phoenix as leverage to pile more profits into an owner's pocket. Highly laudable.

 

3. Same tactic as the father ,pawned off as smart business move. Never considers the feelings of fans that have put tons of dollars into the pockets. City of Green Bay owns the Packers.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

All I can tell you is if an Irsay starts shopping a team to another city, or tells you to build a new stadium, you'd better do it.

 

Amen! One sure thing not to do is elect nitwit liberals and foolishly try to use misapplied laws in order to steal the team. Ask Baltimore, that failed miserably. ;)

[Nadine]

.

 

3. Same tactic as the father ,pawned off as smart business move. Never considers the feelings of fans that have put tons of dollars into the pockets. City of Green Bay owns the Packers.

 

pawned off?  You think it is fair to say he never considers the feelings of the fans?

Should he give the team to the city?

I'm confused

[The Old Crow]

Amen! One sure thing not to do is elect nitwit liberals and foolishly try to use misapplied laws in order to steal the team. Ask Baltimore, that failed miserably. ;)

 

You're right about one thing, the nitwit liberals. Anyway, since your big argument is always the eminent domain thing, let me say on record, I'm against it. That being said, there is precedent in the NFL with Green Bay owning a team. Imagine, a city or community owning a team ! Unfortunately, the current administation in office, has made eminent domain  a real option, just ask people in Connecticut. It would have been interesting if the Baltimore governor had signed the bill in time, and the state police stopped the Mayflower vans from leaving Maryland. If you remember, the lawsuit was thrown out mainly because the Colts were no longer in Maryland, and the bill had been signed after the Colts split on the Mayflower vans. The question would have been, can a city take over a team because of incompetent ownership ? Perhaps in today's political climate, they could. I'm glad it failed, or we wouldn't have the Ravens. You guys can have the Irsays, for most Baltimore people the only remaining question is the heritage, that is about it.

[The Old Crow]

pawned off?  You think it is fair to say he never considers the feelings of the fans?

Should he give the team to the city?

I'm confused

 

Would it be fair to make Indianapolis fans anxious by leveraging your city with a possible move to LA , to get a stadium built ? My reference is that leverage is pawned off as a smart business move, and the fan's feelings are never considered. In my perfect world, I'd love to see the communities and fans own the teams. However, I wouldn't expect Mr. Irsay to hand over the team. Football and Baseball is a little bit different than your average business. In a sense, the community does feel it owns part of the team. Baseball had the antitrust ememption deal. Pro sports is always a bit different than your average business.

[HarassedOffTheSite]

You're right about one thing...

 

I'm right about everything concerning the move. It's background and the cause.

 

And as you know I have challenged you to write out your own perspective and to source it as thoroughly as I have. You have apparently chosen not to and instead have fallen back to trolling around looking for opportunities to do shallow, drive-by retorts whenever anything hints at the greatness of this organization.

 

Stop attempting to sully this franchise with your bitter, malignant nonsense.

[Nadine]

Would it be fair to make Indianapolis fans anxious by leveraging your city with a possible move to LA , to get a stadium built ? My reference is that leverage is pawned off as a smart business move, and the fan's feelings are never considered. In my perfect world, I'd love to see the communities and fans own the teams. However, I wouldn't expect Mr. Irsay to hand over the team. Football and Baseball is a little bit different than your average business. In a sense, the community does feel it owns part of the team. Baseball had the antitrust ememption deal. Pro sports is always a bit different than your average business.

I believe years ago GreenBay sold shares to raise money and survive the depression.  And I believe current rules disallow that.  Green Bay was grandfathered in.  It is pretty cool how they are a throwback to smaller market days.  Many didn't survive.

 

There is a lot that I miss about the way the NFL used to be.

 

Sometimes I feel like it is just 'too hollywood' now and not as accessible to families as it used to be.  And that makes me sad. But I also  wonder how far down this path they can go. If fans cannot afford to go to the games......are the teams bringing in the 'next generation' of football fans the way they used to?

 

I guess we'll see what happens..........so far the NFL is thriving that way.

 

I also miss the old dome.........even though we now have one of the best stadiums in the league.

 

The team depends on the city feeling 'ownership', that's true.

 

But I think the NFL has done a pretty good job making this game popular so, maybe they are doing something right

 

And I think JIm Irsay had a hand in the love that Indiana has for this team.

 

I think you and I differ on Jim Irsay not caring how the fans feel.

 

Ultimately though, he is the steward of the franchise and has to do what he thinks is best.  It is a business relationship between the city and the team. But it is also more than that.  So I see what you are saying

 

But if he felt that the team needed a new stadium and another city invited him to come talk to them.......I don't think that's out of line.  I think that's also where you and I differ.

 

Nature of the market that other cities will want our team.  That's how Indy got the team to begin with.

[The Old Crow]

I'm right about everything concerning the move. It's background and the cause.

 

And as you know I have challenged you to write out your own perspective and to source it as thoroughly as I have. You have apparently chosen not to and instead have fallen back to trolling around looking for opportunities to do shallow, drive-by retorts whenever anything hints at the greatness of this organization.

 

Stop attempting to sully this franchise with your bitter, malignant nonsense.

 

Brian, I can't believe you stooped to the " Troll" card. I will get around to eventually writing up something, but it's a time factor. You can take all of my threads, put them together, and you know my arguments on the subject. I've already told you Baltimore was not without culpability in the move. Here are some things to consider that put a hole the size of a Mack Truck through your arguments.

 

 

1. There is a precedent for a city/community to own a franchise- Green Bay.

 

2. Your biggest argument is the eminent domain deal. I have news for you. Eminent domain had legal precedent then, and it has it now. I don't like it ,like you, but just like Irsay had the right to move, Baltimore had a right to exercise Eminent Domain. Baltimore unltimately lost because the Colts had already physically left Baltimore before the bill was signed. They were not theives. They were fighting to keep the Colts in Baltimore.  

 

3. If I remember correctly, Irsay had emotionally already made the move to move to Indy. The Eminent Domain was a last resort by Baltimore, who already thought they had lost the team. Can you really blame them after he was flying aroung to Jacksonville, Phoenix, Charlotte, and Indy ? Yes, they cocked a gun to Irsay's head, but Irsay also cocked a gun to Baltimore's head. Had Irsay been more stable, he may have gotten all he wanted, and the Eminent Domain mess might never have occured.

 

4. If Baltimore has no right to Colt's heritage, why did the lawsuit give Baltimore the Super Bowl 5 trophy ?

 

5. Irsay was profitable in Baltimore. There were loans, and other deals on the table, like buying the facility for him in Owings Mills, and 43,000 season tickets, and generous loans. Indy got right in the middle and tampered in these negotiations, much like Phoenix did. It is business, but we know that football and baseball are a little bit different business, than your run of the mill operations.

 

Once again, I've presented my case with geometric logic, only to be maligned by ridiculous charges of trolling. I think I've been pretty fair across the board on the subject, versus your Baltimore is evil ,and caused it all argument.