The Athletic: Colts disarray, Irsay "a one man crew"

[Superman]

This is behind a paywall.

https://theathletic.com/4046216/2023/01/06/colts-jim-irsay-jeff-saturday-frank-reich?source=user-shared-article

 

A couple of excerpts I found very important. First, this is the report I wanted to see about Irsay's involvement in the Ryan benching. I won't question it further.

Quote

 

Behind the scenes, Irsay was pushing for Ryan’s benching as early as Week 5. What bothered him most was his team’s awful showings in division games — the tie in Houston, another blowout loss in Jacksonville, two more to Tennessee. His belief in Reich was fading, so Irsay did what he’d long vowed he wouldn’t.

 

He started meddling.

 

After a Week 6 road loss to the Titans — the team Irsay hates to lose to more than any other — the owner stepped in, pushing Reich to change quarterbacks late that night. A day later, the coach reluctantly announced the decision to bench Ryan for Sam Ehlinger. Ryan’s shoulder separation was real, but not serious, and the Colts went out of their way to stress the move wasn’t injury-related. Reich couldn’t flat-out reveal that Irsay made the call — given the choice, the coach would’ve gone with Nick Foles before Ehlinger — but as he tiptoed around that reality, Reich offered a lens into what their discussions had been like the night before.

 

“He’s a one-man crew,” the coach said of Irsay’s influence.

 

 

Another point, they paint the picture of Irsay being very affected by Luck's retirement. And how the QB strategy affected Reich's standing:

Quote

 

The longer the Colts go without finding Luck’s successor, the more it burns Irsay — what could have been, what it’s cost his franchise. After Philip Rivers’ successful one-year stint in 2020, the owner wanted to find the team’s next quarterback in the draft, and in Irsay’s words, “grow our own.” But head coach Frank Reich wanted Wentz, convinced he could salvage the former No. 2 pick’s career. So the Colts made the move, thinking Wentz would be in Indianapolis for multiple seasons.

 

Hours after the Colts’ Week 18 loss in Jacksonville, Reich sat in Irsay’s office and apologized to his boss.

 

“I thought I could fix him,” the coach said of Wentz. “But I was wrong.”

 

That’s when Irsay started to lose faith in his head coach, most in the building believe. Reich never regained it.

 

 

Reich wasn't big on accountability, an area in which Saturday provided an immediate contrast:

Quote

 

He was respected within the locker room, but some players wondered if Reich was tough enough on his best players, a few of whom had regressed. He never called them out in front of the rest of the team — some felt that was needed, especially as a disappointing season continued.

 

... 

 

On the field, the players learned promptly that Saturday was going to do things differently. In his first practice, he called the offensive line out in front of everyone, then demanded they restart the period until they got it right.

 

“He went off on everybody,” one player said.

 

“Jeff’s not afraid to get in your face and tell you, ‘That play, you sucked,'” Wayne added.

 

 

There's some stuff on Ballard, his role, and his future, but it's more speculative. 

 

The big takeaways for me are that Irsay was very upset about the end of last season, he was pushing to bench Ryan and finally made it happen, and his dissatisfaction with Reich had a lot to do with the Wentz situation. 

[csmopar]

11 minutes ago, Superman said:

This is behind a paywall.

https://theathletic.com/4046216/2023/01/06/colts-jim-irsay-jeff-saturday-frank-reich?source=user-shared-article

 

A couple of excerpts I found very important. First, this is the report I wanted to see about Irsay's involvement in the Ryan benching. I won't question it further.

 

Another point, they paint the picture of Irsay being very affected by Luck's retirement. And how the QB strategy affected Reich's standing:

 

Reich wasn't big on accountability, an area in which Saturday provided an immediate contrast:

 

There's some stuff on Ballard, his role, and his future, but it's more speculative. 

 

The big takeaways for me are that Irsay was very upset about the end of last season, he was pushing to bench Ryan and finally made it happen, and his dissatisfaction with Reich had a lot to do with the Wentz situation. 

Finally. We have some details to back the Irsay taking the reigns and meddling theories. Thank you.

 

so here’s the question, how far does the meddling continue going forward? Sounds more and more like Reich was too soft, that may have corrupted the locker room to the point of no return. So do we trade off those that still refuse to get with the program? 

[chad72]

@DougDew @Nickster and so many of us were calling it. There is your proof. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

 

Irsay should let Ballard completely take the reigns or any new HC/GM combo completely take the reigns and stay out of the way for the Colts to get back in contention, IMO. No more knee jerk meddling. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

5 minutes ago, chad72 said:

@DougDew @Nickster and so many of us were calling it. There is your proof. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

 

Irsay should let Ballard completely take the reigns or any new HC/GM combo completely take the reigns and stay out of the way for the Colts to get back in contention, IMO. No more knee jerk meddling. 

Funny thing is the stuff in that story isn’t anything that hasn’t been in other stories. The proof had always been there. 

[chad72]

Just now, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Funny thing is the stuff in that story isn’t anything that hasn’t been in other stories. The proof had always been there. 

 

The assumptions were always there, not the proof. However, the assumptions were definitely reasonable enough for a lot of us but weren't enough for some, so glad we put it to rest. Let us move on. Bigger fish to fry now with the draft.  

[Superman]

I think the rest of this tracks with what I've thought since the end of last season. Irsay's response after the Jags loss in January was, to me, a strong indication that he was not happy with what had been happening. He felt the tone of the program was not right, and he decided to turn up the temperature. The video about 'we have allowed doubt, fear, and a lack of faith to slip into our DNA, and it will not stand...' to me, that was Irsay putting everyone on notice. And all of this was a decided change from the way Irsay has handled things throughout his tenure.

 

He's never shied away from a camera or a reporter pool, he doesn't hide his feelings, he doesn't lower expectations ('two Super Bowls in the Luck era!'), etc. But him having such a strong, direct influence on day to day ops is a departure. Firing a HC during the season is unprecedented. 

 

I think Irsay was -- rightfully -- not happy with the direction of the team, and I think he held Reich mostly responsible for what he saw as a lack of toughness, a lack of fire, a lack of focus, and maybe even a lack of a franchise QB. If anyone in the building felt that Reich didn't hold players accountable for playing poorly, and Irsay felt Reich was making a flawed decision in sticking with Matt Ryan, that might be confirmation to Irsay that Reich is not the right guy for the job. 

 

So my hope is that Irsay's increased intensity over the last 12 months -- which for the most part I don't have a problem with, although the day to day influence is problematic IMO -- is more about finding out where the cracks were/are, and not an indication that he intends to be more involved moving forward. 

 

I personally think it's a bit sensational to say that the Saturday saga will have turned NFL people off from working for the Colts, although I agree it's not a good look. Ultimately, I hope it's just a short term spurt, and leads to a reset, after which Irsay's involvement goes back to the previous "normal" we saw for decades.

[NewColtsFan]

15 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Finally. We have some details to back the Irsay taking the reigns and meddling theories. Thank you.

 

so here’s the question, how far does the meddling continue going forward? Sounds more and more like Reich was too soft, that may have corrupted the locker room to the point of no return. So do we trade off those that still refuse to get with the program? 

It’s a very long article….   Superman has just pulled out a few excerpts….  And I think your imagination has filled in the rest.  
 

You write:  “Reich too soft and may have corrupted the entire locker room”.  
 

The article says Reich was loved by the players and they were not happy to see him fired.   Remember, Frank being a players coach has mostly been viewed as a good thing.   Now you’re viewing it as a bad thing.   All based in a small sampling of a very large story. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

The assumptions were always there, not the proof. However, the assumptions were definitely reasonable enough for a lot of us but weren't enough for some, so glad we put it to rest. Let us move on. Bigger fish to fry now with the draft.  

IDK I didn’t read nothing in that story I already hadn’t read in other stories.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s a very long article….   Superman has just pulled out a few excerpts….  And I think your imagination has filled in the rest.  
 

You write:  “Reich too soft and may have corrupted the entire locker room”.  
 

The article says Reich was loved by the players and they were not happy to see him fired.   Remember, Frank being a players coach has mostly been viewed as a good thing.   Now you’re viewing it as a bad thing.   All based in a small sampling of a very large story. 

There is a part in this story where it says players thought Reich was too soft and didn’t hold players accountable.

[Superman]

8 minutes ago, chad72 said:

@DougDew @Nickster and so many of us were calling it. There is your proof. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

 

Irsay should let Ballard completely take the reigns or any new HC/GM combo completely take the reigns and stay out of the way for the Colts to get back in contention, IMO. No more knee jerk meddling. 

 

To be clear, speaking for myself, I asked whether there was any reporting about this. I didn't say I found it unbelievable. I said it's something everyone has been repeating for months, but was never actually reported. I also find it interesting that Irsay has denied it, albeit it in soft enough terms that he could later explain his way out of it (but not really). 

 

To me, this is the reporting that didn't previously exist. And as I said all along, if/when this reporting comes out, I'll drop my objections on this. 

 

 

[Superman]

3 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

IDK I didn’t read nothing in that story I already hadn’t read in other stories.

 

You never read this anywhere. This is entirely new:

Quote

 

Reich couldn’t flat-out reveal that Irsay made the call — given the choice, the coach would’ve gone with Nick Foles before Ehlinger — but as he tiptoed around that reality, Reich offered a lens into what their discussions had been like the night before.

 

“He’s a one-man crew,” the coach said of Irsay’s influence.

 

 

Reich being quoted as making that comment, in the context of the Ryan benching decision, is very different from anything that's been previously stated.

[chad72]

3 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

To be clear, speaking for myself, I asked whether there was any reporting about this. I didn't say I found it unbelievable. I said it's something everyone has been repeating for months, but was never actually reported. I also find it interesting that Irsay has denied it, albeit it in soft enough terms that he could later explain his way out of it (but not really). 

 

To me, this is the reporting that didn't previously exist. And as I said all along, if/when this reporting comes out, I'll drop my objections on this. 

 

 

 

It was a matter of time for me. You are a stand up guy, you gave the proof and followed up with the no objection. No worries.  

[csmopar]

6 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s a very long article….   Superman has just pulled out a few excerpts….  And I think your imagination has filled in the rest.  
 

You write:  “Reich too soft and may have corrupted the entire locker room”.  
 

The article says Reich was loved by the players and they were not happy to see him fired.   Remember, Frank being a players coach has mostly been viewed as a good thing.   Now you’re viewing it as a bad thing.   All based in a small sampling of a very large story. 

No I’m referring to the part the article talks about Riech not holding players accountable. It’s easy to be liked if you’re always sweet and never turning the screws. Not saying this is the case, but that’s how it reads to me

[NewColtsFan]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

I think the rest of this tracks with what I've thought since the end of last season. Irsay's response after the Jags loss in January was, to me, a strong indication that he was not happy with what had been happening. He felt the tone of the program was not right, and he decided to turn up the temperature. The video about 'we have allowed doubt, fear, and a lack of faith to slip into our DNA, and it will not stand...' to me, that was Irsay putting everyone on notice. And all of this was a decided change from the way Irsay has handled things throughout his tenure.

 

He's never shied away from a camera or a reporter pool, he doesn't hide his feelings, he doesn't lower expectations ('two Super Bowls in the Luck era!'), etc. But him having such a strong, direct influence on day to day ops is a departure. Firing a HC during the season is unprecedented. 

 

I think Irsay was -- rightfully -- not happy with the direction of the team, and I think he held Reich mostly responsible for what he saw as a lack of toughness, a lack of fire, a lack of focus, and maybe even a lack of a franchise QB. If anyone in the building felt that Reich didn't hold players accountable for playing poorly, and Irsay felt Reich was making a flawed decision in sticking with Matt Ryan, that might be confirmation to Irsay that Reich is not the right guy for the job. 

 

So my hope is that Irsay's increased intensity over the last 12 months -- which for the most part I don't have a problem with, although the day to day influence is problematic IMO -- is more about finding out where the cracks were/are, and not an indication that he intends to be more involved moving forward. 

 

I personally think it's a bit sensational to say that the Saturday saga will have turned NFL people off from working for the Colts, although I agree it's not a good look. Ultimately, I hope it's just a short term spurt, and leads to a reset, after which Irsay's involvement goes back to the previous "normal" we saw for decades.

Now it’s Reich’s fault about the quarterback situation?   Really?

 

Ballard and Irsay have been on the record since Luck retired that they had a team built to win now.   They didn’t want to draft a quarterback who might not be ready to win for 2-3 years, they wanted to win now.
 

If Irsay is trying to blame Reich fir the quarterback situation I think it would have zero credibility with me and I’d hope others.   Irsay always signed off on what Ballard and Reich did.   He was very public about it.   Pointing a finger at Reich would be scapegoating of the highest order. 

[csmopar]

5 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

To be clear, speaking for myself, I asked whether there was any reporting about this. I didn't say I found it unbelievable. I said it's something everyone has been repeating for months, but was never actually reported. I also find it interesting that Irsay has denied it, albeit it in soft enough terms that he could later explain his way out of it (but not really). 

 

To me, this is the reporting that didn't previously exist. And as I said all along, if/when this reporting comes out, I'll drop my objections on this. 

 

 

I concur completely. I also Never said it wasn’t possible, just said I hadn’t seen anything concrete. This article is as concrete as we will likely get

[Superman]

6 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s a very long article….   Superman has just pulled out a few excerpts….  And I think your imagination has filled in the rest.  
 

You write:  “Reich too soft and may have corrupted the entire locker room”.  
 

The article says Reich was loved by the players and they were not happy to see him fired.   Remember, Frank being a players coach has mostly been viewed as a good thing.   Now you’re viewing it as a bad thing.   All based in a small sampling of a very large story. 

 

I wouldn't say Reich corrupted the locker room, but the tone of the article does paint a picture of Reich not holding his players accountable. It's one thing to be a players' coach, it's another thing to not confront players who aren't playing well. 

 

There's an excerpt about Odenigbo in this article. He missed a bed check, Saturday benched him, now he's gone. It reads as if there was a lax standard under Reich. But that's a contrast I inferred, not something expressly stated.

 

And ultimately, it tracks with what we saw from Reich, especially late in 2021. Rather than confronting Wentz about a bad interception against the Pats, Reich simply called 18 straight run plays. Maybe a sideline confrontation wasn't the right approach, but maybe that kind of passive response from Reich was the norm. 

[csmopar]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

Now it’s Reich’s fault about the quarterback situation?   Really?

 

Ballard and Irsay have been on the record since Luck retired that they had a team built to win now.   They didn’t want to draft a quarterback who might not be ready to win for 2-3 years, they wanted to win now.
 

If Irsay is trying to blame Reich fir the quarterback situation I think it would have zero credibility with me and I’d hope others.   Irsay always signed off on what Ballard and Reich did.   He was very public about it.   Pointing a finger at Reich would be scapegoating of the highest order. 

Reich himself in April said he was pounding the table for Wentz. And that it was him who convinced a skeptical Ballard and Irsay. I mean, Reich admits it and you deny it. Crazy

[Superman]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

Now it’s Reich’s fault about the quarterback situation?   Really?

 

Ballard and Irsay have been on the record since Luck retired that they had a team built to win now.   They didn’t want to draft a quarterback who might not be ready to win for 2-3 years, they wanted to win now.
 

If Irsay is trying to blame Reich fir the quarterback situation I think it would have zero credibility with me and I’d hope others.   Irsay always signed off on what Ballard and Reich did.   He was very public about it.   Pointing a finger at Reich would be scapegoating of the highest order. 

 

Did you read the article?

 

Quote

 

After Philip Rivers’ successful one-year stint in 2020, the owner wanted to find the team’s next quarterback in the draft, and in Irsay’s words, “grow our own.” But head coach Frank Reich wanted Wentz, convinced he could salvage the former No. 2 pick’s career. So the Colts made the move, thinking Wentz would be in Indianapolis for multiple seasons.

 

Hours after the Colts’ Week 18 loss in Jacksonville, Reich sat in Irsay’s office and apologized to his boss.

 

“I thought I could fix him,” the coach said of Wentz. “But I was wrong.”

 

That’s when Irsay started to lose faith in his head coach, most in the building believe. Reich never regained it.

 

 

Admittedly, this is something I've been wondering aloud for a couple months now. Maybe the reason Reich is gone and Ballard is not is because Irsay holds Reich more responsible for the QB strategy than he does Ballard. This reporting supports that idea. 

 

And you can call it finger pointing or scapegoating or whatever. Irsay has always supported his guys, and now he's fired Reich in midseason, which is unprecedented. We know that supporting his guys doesn't mean he's always agreed with everything they've done. Irsay said recently he sees value in letting his people chart their own course, even if he sees them making what he believes to be a mistake. I don't necessarily think Irsay would stand idly by while Ballard and Reich trade a first and a third for a QB if Irsay feels they're making the wrong choice. However, I could easily see them all having a discussion in which Irsay says he thinks they should draft guy, Reich says 'Wentz should be our guy,' and Irsay trusts him and gets on board. 

[Nickster]

9 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Now it’s Reich’s fault about the quarterback situation?   Really?

 

Ballard and Irsay have been on the record since Luck retired that they had a team built to win now.   They didn’t want to draft a quarterback who might not be ready to win for 2-3 years, they wanted to win now.
 

If Irsay is trying to blame Reich fir the quarterback situation I think it would have zero credibility with me and I’d hope others.   Irsay always signed off on what Ballard and Reich did.   He was very public about it.   Pointing a finger at Reich would be scapegoating of the highest order. 

Yeah it would wouldn’t it?

[Superman]

10 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

It was a matter of time for me. You are a stand up guy, you gave the proof and followed up with the no objection. No worries.  

 

I appreciate it. Just one more thing, the earlier discussions were also about whether Irsay dictated that Ehlinger start, rather than Foles (because Ryan was hurt and couldn't play). And I thought that was all speculative as well. There was a lot involved in that earlier conversation.

[Nickster]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I appreciate it. Just one more thing, the earlier discussions were also about whether Irsay dictated that Ehlinger start, rather than Foles (because Ryan was hurt and couldn't play). And I thought that was all speculative as well. There was a lot involved in that earlier conversation.

It’s a giant cluster.

[aReggie7]

5 minutes ago, csmopar said:

Reich himself in April said he was pounding the table for Wentz. And that it was him who convinced a skeptical Ballard and Irsay. I mean, Reich admits it and you deny it. Crazy

 

Just to add the local guys who cover the Colts have repeatedly indicated on interviews on 1075 that the decision to get Wentz was driven by Reich and that Irsay was skeptical of the move but Reich pushed for Wentz and convinced Irsay. Which really isn't hard to believe that Irsay had reservations about acquiring for Wentz.

 

I think Reich had to sell Ballard on it too to some extent. At least that's my impression based on various guests/interviews on 1075 over the past year or so.

 

I know this new article by Zak Keefer states that Irsay wanted to draft a QB but I don't know how much he pushed for that or how strongly he felt. I think it's clear that Wentz would not have been in Indy if not for Reich though. That I have no doubts about.

[Superman]

30 minutes ago, chad72 said:

No more knee jerk meddling. 

 

So one more thing on this, also. It is my optimistic hope (and maybe I'm blinded by optimism) that Irsay's meddling has not been knee jerk. I'm not saying he's playing 3-D chess or anything, but I've felt all along that Irsay's strong comments of dissatisfaction were an indication that people were being put on notice. And maybe this was Irsay turning up the pressure to figure out where the cracks were. For instance, I wouldn't characterize Reich's firing as knee jerk. I think that had been bubbling up for a while.

[Superman]

1 minute ago, aReggie7 said:

I think it's clear that Wentz would not have been in Indy if not for Reich though. That I have no doubts about.

 

We could say the same thing about Rivers. And while signing him wasn't a disaster, the perceived alternative would have been better in the long run.

[NewColtsFan]

21 minutes ago, csmopar said:

No I’m referring to the part the article talks about Riech not holding players accountable. It’s easy to be liked if you’re always sweet and never turning the screws. Not saying this is the case, but that’s how it reads to me

Have you read the whole article?    That’s my point. 

[csmopar]

Just now, NewColtsFan said:

Have you read the whole article?    That’s my point. 

Yes

[#12.]

If we're high enough to get a QB, Irsay's meddling might help in the end, but Chad is right - Irsay needs to get back out of it and let Ballard choose a coach and draft a QB.  

[Superman]

9 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

So one more thing on this, also. It is my optimistic hope (and maybe I'm blinded by optimism) that Irsay's meddling has not been knee jerk. I'm not saying he's playing 3-D chess or anything, but I've felt all along that Irsay's strong comments of dissatisfaction were an indication that people were being put on notice. And maybe this was Irsay turning up the pressure to figure out where the cracks were. For instance, I wouldn't characterize Reich's firing as knee jerk. I think that had been bubbling up for a while.

 

@NewColtsFan

Just say it. I'm eager to know your angle.

[philba101]

21 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

Now it’s Reich’s fault about the quarterback situation?   Really?

 

Ballard and Irsay have been on the record since Luck retired that they had a team built to win now.   They didn’t want to draft a quarterback who might not be ready to win for 2-3 years, they wanted to win now.
 

If Irsay is trying to blame Reich fir the quarterback situation I think it would have zero credibility with me and I’d hope others.   Irsay always signed off on what Ballard and Reich did.   He was very public about it.   Pointing a finger at Reich would be scapegoating of the highest order. 

I agree on this. I would also like to know who pushed to bring in Matt Ryan as well. I believe Irsay stated they all three were on board but I wonder if he spearheaded this move as well. I am troubled by the fact that Irsay is labeled as a "one man show" and that he has denied what many have speculated over the past few months and what is in this story.

[NewColtsFan]

5 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

So one more thing on this, also. It is my optimistic hope (and maybe I'm blinded by optimism) that Irsay's meddling has not been knee jerk. I'm not saying he's playing 3-D chess or anything, but I've felt all along that Irsay's strong comments of dissatisfaction were an indication that people were being put on notice. And maybe this was Irsay turning up the pressure to figure out where the cracks were. For instance, I wouldn't characterize Reich's firing as knee jerk. I think that had been bubbling up for a while.

You wouldn’t characterize Irsay firing Reich as knee jerk?  Really?    Holy cow!?

 

It came two weeks after saying that he and Ballard and Reich were all re-energized with the demotion of Ryan and the promotion of Ehlinger.   They were all on the same page.   Not knee jerk? 
 

It came the day after getting humbled by Belichick and New England.   If Irsay was shocked (they stole our lunch money!) all he had to do was read this forum.   I’d guess roughly 5-10 posters (more?) correctly predicted BB was going to give Ehlinger a looong day at the office.   That he’d only been doing it to young quarterbacks for 40 years including to Indy QB’s named Manning and Luck.   Yet Irsay had a meltdown.   
 

I think it was the textbook definition of knee jerk. 
 

The article was hugely negative towards Irsay.   I’m beyond stunned to see you defend him.   

[chad72]

29 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

So one more thing on this, also. It is my optimistic hope (and maybe I'm blinded by optimism) that Irsay's meddling has not been knee jerk. I'm not saying he's playing 3-D chess or anything, but I've felt all along that Irsay's strong comments of dissatisfaction were an indication that people were being put on notice. And maybe this was Irsay turning up the pressure to figure out where the cracks were. For instance, I wouldn't characterize Reich's firing as knee jerk. I think that had been bubbling up for a while.

 

It is knee jerk because if you meddled enough to make a QB change, and didn't even want to stick with a few more games of the QB change to see if it will show you any results and pulled the plug a bit too soon. The HC did what you wanted, and what were you truly gaining by canning him when you know this HC has traditionally been a slow starter and we were still 3-3-1 when you insisted on a QB change. Knee jerk, because no thought was given to the ramifications of who is going to call plays without Marcus Brady and Frank Reich also. 

[Nickster]

3 minutes ago, aReggie7 said:

 

Just to add the local guys who cover the Colts have repeatedly indicated on interviews on 1075 that the decision to get Wentz was driven by Reich and that Irsay was skeptical of the move but Reich pushed for Wentz and convinced Irsay. Which really isn't hard to believe that Irsay had reservations about acquiring for Wentz.

 

I think Reich had to sell Ballard on it too to some extent. At least that's my impression based on various guests/interviews on 1075 over the past year or so.

 

I know this new article by Zak Keefer states that Irsay wanted to draft a QB but I don't know how much he pushed for that or how strongly he felt. I think it's clear that Wentz would not have been in Indy if not for Reich though. That I have no doubts about.

So my question is who’s decision was it to trade for Ryan?  I don’t think Reich had any particular relationship with him.  And it seems to go way away from the idea of drafting a  new guy.  
 

there is a lot of strangeness in the whole thing.

 

 

[CR91]

49 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

It’s a very long article….   Superman has just pulled out a few excerpts….  And I think your imagination has filled in the rest.  
 

You write:  “Reich too soft and may have corrupted the entire locker room”.  
 

The article says Reich was loved by the players and they were not happy to see him fired.   Remember, Frank being a players coach has mostly been viewed as a good thing.   Now you’re viewing it as a bad thing.   All based in a small sampling of a very large story. 

 

Is the part about Reich wanting Wentz good enough? I can't find the article referring Reich convincing Ballard to trade for him, but I'd like to think this is good enough.

[Nesjan3]

This scares me a lot, Irsay is going off the rails. Does Ballard step down if he is not let go?

[Superman]

1 minute ago, NewColtsFan said:

You wouldn’t characterize Irsay firing Reich as knee jerk?  Really?    Holy cow!?

 

It came two weeks after saying that he and Ballard and Reich were all re-energized with the demotion of Ryan and the promotion of Ehlinger.   They were all on the same page.   Not knee jerk? 
 

It came the day after getting humbled by Belichick and New England.   If Irsay was shocked (they stole our lunch money!) all he had to do was read this forum.   I’d guess roughly 5-10 posters (more?) correctly predicted BB was going to give Ehlinger a looong day at the office.   That he’d only been doing it to young quarterbacks for 40 years including to Indy QB’s named Manning and Luck.   Yet Irsay had a meltdown.   
 

I think it was the textbook definition of knee jerk. 
 

The article was hugely negative towards Irsay.   I’m beyond stunned to see you defend him.   

 

I don't think I'm defending him. I'm saying that I think I understand him, and I hope that my understanding is correct. In short, I think Irsay was very dissatisfied with the end of 2021, and his confidence in Reich was significantly shook at that point. And his increased involvement has been a reflection of the fact that he thought the team was not on the right track. It's my hope that there's a reset, Irsay's increased involvement was a temporary necessity -- in his mind, and he goes back to his previous normal mode of letting his football people make football decisions.

 

So if -- IF -- Irsay was lukewarm on Reich as of January 2021, wouldn't it stand to reason that Reich's firing had been in the works for a while now? 

 

I don't think Reich was fired because we got taken apart by the Patriots. (And to be clear, the Patriots game was a referendum on Reich's coaching, top to bottom. We can predict that Ehlinger would have a rough day, but that result was inexcusable.) I think Reich was fired because Irsay felt he was not right guy, and had felt that way for a while. I don't think he just ran hot for 24 hours and did something that he'd never done before simply because of a bad game.

 

And, admittedly, I was on the same track as Irsay. After last season's meltdown, my confidence in Reich waned tremendously. I felt like he might not have the ability to get the players moving in the right direction. I saw a lack of fire and intensity; the team paid lip service to the idea of coming out strong to start the season, then laid an egg. By the time Reich was fired, I was beyond ready for him to go. And I'm not the guy who calls for the coach to be fired, you know that. So I don't see it as knee jerk, I see it as reaching the boiling point.

[Indyfan4life]

Remember when we were the stable organization and there was zero chaos?

[chad72]

6 minutes ago, Nickster said:

So my question is who’s decision was it to trade for Ryan?  I don’t think Reich had any particular relationship with him.  And it seems to go way away from the idea of drafting a  new guy.  
 

there is a lot of strangeness in the whole thing.

 

 

That had to be Ballard because the draft class for QBs was downright unimpressive and they were asked to move on from Wentz with not many great options out there. Again, the ripple effects of Irsay meddling. 

[cjwhiskers]

Irsay has every right to meddle. We’ve been an underperforming team for years. Do we want him continuing to meddle? No. He hasn’t been that type of owner outside of this season. I have no indication it’ll stay that way.

 

He knows what winning football, culture  and accountability feel like. If anything, he should’ve meddled sooner. 

 

Give Ballard another shot and let’s see what he can do with another high pick and some coaching changes. 

[Superman]

9 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

It is knee jerk because if you meddled enough to make a QB change, and didn't even want to stick with a few more games of the QB change to see if it will show you any results and pulled the plug a bit too soon. The HC did what you wanted, and what were you truly gaining by canning him when you know this HC has traditionally been a slow starter and we were still 3-3-1. Knee jerk, because no thought was given to the ramifications of who is going to call plays without Marcus Brady and Frank Reich also. 

 

I get where you're coming from, but IMO, this season was over when we got shut out in Jacksonville. I felt right then and there that Reich was a problem, Ryan wasn't going to work here, and nothing good was going to happen this year.

 

From that standpoint, it didn't really matter who the playcaller was. We didn't have a good enough QB on the roster, so pulling the plug now or later would make no difference. 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

2 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

That had to be Ballard because the draft class for QBs was downright unimpressive and they were asked to move on from Wentz with not many great options out there. Again, the ripple effects of Irsay meddling. 

Looking back should have just started Sam and not traded Ryan. But Ballard was put in a bad position where there were no good options.