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

[Moosejawcolt]

9 hours 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. 

Saturday and  accountability? We have set records  one way or another in our last 3 losses. Oh brother!!!!

[AKB]

Just now, NewColtsFan said:

Less visibility?   This year, Ballard has practically out himself in the witness protection program.  
 

In 17 thru 20, Ballard face quarterly seasonal updates.  Last year there were just two.   This year, will be just one— the year ender.    The only other time he’s been in front of cameras and microphones was the Saturday introduction.   CB used the occasion to blame the media for him doing a poor job. 
 

Ballard couldn't have much less visibility. 

agreed.  

 

Ballard needs to be front and center and take the blame for once. 

 

but will he? probably not.

 

he'll say "look" 30 times and blame the media. 

[Moosejawcolt]

9 hours 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? 

Soft teams don't usually lead the league  in  rushing as they did last year. Just saying.

[Moosejawcolt]

8 hours 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. 

Agreed. This team lacks toughness. So u bring in a tough guy and the team has been an embarrassment.   

[Moosejawcolt]

8 hours 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. 

Olay. So let's go back and draft a qb  after Rivers and insert him into this  team.  So u really think this is a championship team  that Balard has built with another younger qb. Okay  so we have  heard Ballard liked Fields.  Yeah that would have been so much different. What I find distressing is that Reich is getting the blame  for the qb situation but Ballard is getting a  pass for  building a below average roster.  Who built this train  wreck of an  offensive line? That is  a bigger issue  than missing on Wentz. Its a  joke article  Irsay blaming others. But that's what..do. They are always the victims of  this world.

[Moosejawcolt]

4 hours ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

It makes you wonder. The Oline were also the big position group that didn’t get vaxxed. They seem to be the position group that has been playing the least inspired  since that raiders game last season. Did Irsay start blaming players for the outbreak because they weren’t vaxxed ? I know it sounds wild  but vaccines debate ruined a lot of close relationships in this country. 

U got it. That's why the article is rubbish. Irsay takes no responsibility  for the implosion of this team when I think he was the most responsible.

[NewColtsFan]

16 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Olay. So let's go back and draft a qb  after Rivers and insert him into this  team.  So u really think this is a championship team  that Balard has built with another younger qb. Okay  so we have  heard Ballard liked Fields.  Yeah that would have been so much different. What I find distressing is that Reich is getting the blame  for the qb situation but Ballard is getting a  pass for  building a below average roster.  Who built this train  wreck of an  offensive line? That is  a bigger issue  than missing on Wentz. Its a  joke article  Irsay blaming others. But that's what..do. They are always the victims of  this world.

As angry as I am with Ballard, I think I’m going to surprise you.   I think this roster  was good enough to go 9-8, or 10-7 if Ballard had put together an acceptable OL.  I link many of our problems directly to the OL.   I believe Ryan would have been good enough and Taylor would’ve been much better with even an average OL.  Even the defense would’ve been better because they wouldn't have been stuck on the field nearly as much if only the Colts had a decent offense.   For me, all roads lead to the OL.  
 

I think if we had gone 9-8 or 10-7 we’d be discussing and debating the rest of the roster and wondering if the Colts would even win a playoff game.  But I think the season would be DRAMATICALLY different.  
 

I’m sure you’ll disagree, but that’s my view. 

[ShuteAt168]

22 minutes ago, Moosejawcolt said:

U got it. That's why the article is rubbish. Irsay takes no responsibility  for the implosion of this team when I think he was the most responsible.

It seems an issue with the organization. Irsay will not give a mea culpa. Ballard’s arrogance won’t allow him to take any sincere blame. 

[AwesomeAustin]

I’ve said this before, I believe Reich was the driving force behind us going the veteran QB route. I strongly believe this is why he was fired. The first draft after Luck’s retirement should have been about trying to get a franchise QB.  Ballard is often blasted by some for mainly building through the draft. I believe he would of rather drafted a QB but supported his coach. Irsay is now getting involved bc it has hit the wall the normally happens bc the veteran QB strategy hardly ever works. We will see a minor rebuild of the team with Ballard working with the new coach to identify a QB and build around him. I’m optimistic this will all work out. 

[Aaron86]

35 minutes ago, ShuteAt168 said:

It seems an issue with the organization. Irsay will not give a mea culpa. Ballard’s arrogance won’t allow him to take any sincere blame. 

I am sure Ballard is taking his share of the blame. Not publicly or to the media but behind closed doors I would bet he is. I really do not find him the arrogant. Maybe I need to go watch some more of his interviews to see for myself. All in all I think he has brought in some good players.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

8 minutes ago, Aaron86 said:

I am sure Ballard is taking his share of the blame. Not publicly or to the media but behind closed doors I would bet he is. I really do not find him the arrogant. Maybe I need to go watch some more of his interviews to see for myself. All in all I think he has brought in some good players.

I have seen Ballard publicly admit his mistakes. He does usually learn from them. His issue it seems is he is too slow to react to holes on the roster. He takes a wait and see attitude and it’s usually too late to fix it when a player he thinks will work don’t. If he gives a end of season presser I fully expect him to take some blame as far as player personnel like the olive.

[NewColtsFan]

1 hour ago, Moosejawcolt said:

U got it. That's why the article is rubbish. Irsay takes no responsibility  for the implosion of this team when I think he was the most responsible.

The article is rubbish?!?    Huh? 
 

The article is highly critical of Irsay.   You’re highly critical of Irsay.    So how does that make the article rubbish?   
 

I don’t follow….  

[Moosejawcolt]

31 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:

The article is rubbish?!?    Huh? 
 

The article is highly critical of Irsay.   You’re highly critical of Irsay.    So how does that make the article rubbish?   
 

I don’t follow….  

Irsay is rubbish.

[throwing BBZ]

9 hours ago, stitches said:

It scares me that the guy everybody is blaming for the disarray and chaos with this team seems to have the most clear picture and best philosophy for this team. It scares me that it's Irsay that wanted us to "grow our own" QB after Luck retired and it wasn't the guy who actually should be the one making those decisions with the input of the other guy... Those are the guys that actually wanted a retread after retread at QB. 

 

It scares me that the looney owner was the one with the clear mind who had the clearest picture that this team has serious issues with coaching and that Reich was losing it and changes needed to be made at HC... and it wasn't the GM whose job it is to see this. 

 

It scares me that it was the merchant of chaos who saw that Matt Ryan is done and we actually need to see what we have in Sam Ehlinger. It wasn't the coach. The coach wanted Ryan... and then FOLES before he even gave a thought to Ehlinger. This is freaking insane to me. 

 

Why the hell are those people in those positions? If the GM cannot have a good strategy for the QB position, cannot see that his HC has lost it... if the HC cannot see that Matt Ryan and freaking Nick Foles are done, then what chance do we even have? 

 

This post is NOT an excuse for Irsay going rogue. He might have been right on most issues(excluding hiring Saturday if the goal was to still compete), but this is NOT how you do it. He should have given them all the rope they need to hang themselves and fired them at the end of the year without much noise and commotion in the locker room or within the coaching staff. This post is a total vote of no confidence in Ballard. I do NOT trust him to make the picks for the next HC and QB. Are we even sure it will be him making the pick for HC? 

 

With that said, I really really hope Irsay steps back. I generally love the guy and I think he's been a great owner for this team. But this is not the way. He should keep a hierarchy of responsibilities. If you don't trust your GM to make the decisions - you fire him. You don't make the decision that are in his purview. Then hire a guy you trust for GM and let him make the big decisions. Of course you can have a say if something totally out of order is going on, but for the most part - hire the GM, let him make personnel decisions, let him hire HC and coaching staff... and let them work out the picks for QB and other important roster decisions. 

 

I really really hope, once Irsay decides who his GM will be next year, he would let them do their job and succeed or fail on their own terms. 

 

 

 

  The "crazy man", doesn't operate in a vaccum. NO DOUBT he has astute football people that he consults. 

 Frank being thrown away from that lockerroom happened right when it needed to and Saturdays EYES were just the right, trusted ones to observe Irsays players.

 There is a cleanup coming, and i would lean to Irsay already Knowing Ballard won't be his GM. Someone in our organization moves on and Ballard gets a VP ish role for a season or he gets a GM job elsewhere.

 Sirriano dumped Wentz on HIS Mentor Frank and rode it to the bank. 

  Interesting that that table pounding by Reich, that his supreme confidence for where Wentz could take Irsays Colts, coincided with him bagging a very generous New Contract. Enjoy your retirement Frank!

 

[smittywerb]

No surprises here for me regarding the wentz stuff.  I literally said all of this after last season in another thread and spent pages going back and forth with people and was told I was just speculating and didn’t know what I was talking about.  
 

it was clear wentz was a Reich move and when the report about him beating on the table to Ballard about getting him here came out it only Solidified what I thought.  
 

I called wentz being released or traded when everyone else thought it wasn’t going to happen.  What I didn’t call was us getting another vet.  I thought after the wentz trade we were going into rebuild mode.  But now it makes sense.  They probably didn’t like last years draft class (rightfully so) and figured they could make something of this year.  Irsay didn’t want to take all year to see what we had because he didn’t want to miss out on this upcoming draft.  

[smittywerb]

12 hours ago, stitches said:

It scares me that the guy everybody is blaming for the disarray and chaos with this team seems to have the most clear picture and best philosophy for this team. It scares me that it's Irsay that wanted us to "grow our own" QB after Luck retired and it wasn't the guy who actually should be the one making those decisions with the input of the other guy... Those are the guys that actually wanted a retread after retread at QB. 

 

It scares me that the looney owner was the one with the clear mind who had the clearest picture that this team has serious issues with coaching and that Reich was losing it and changes needed to be made at HC... and it wasn't the GM whose job it is to see this. 

 

It scares me that it was the merchant of chaos who saw that Matt Ryan is done and we actually need to see what we have in Sam Ehlinger. It wasn't the coach. The coach wanted Ryan... and then FOLES before he even gave a thought to Ehlinger. This is freaking insane to me. 

 

Why the hell are those people in those positions? If the GM cannot have a good strategy for the QB position, cannot see that his HC has lost it... if the HC cannot see that Matt Ryan and freaking Nick Foles are done, then what chance do we even have? 

 

This post is NOT an excuse for Irsay going rogue. He might have been right on most issues(excluding hiring Saturday if the goal was to still compete), but this is NOT how you do it. He should have given them all the rope they need to hang themselves and fired them at the end of the year without much noise and commotion in the locker room or within the coaching staff. This post is a total vote of no confidence in Ballard. I do NOT trust him to make the picks for the next HC and QB. Are we even sure it will be him making the pick for HC? 

 

With that said, I really really hope Irsay steps back. I generally love the guy and I think he's been a great owner for this team. But this is not the way. He should keep a hierarchy of responsibilities. If you don't trust your GM to make the decisions - you fire him. You don't make the decision that are in his purview. Then hire a guy you trust for GM and let him make the big decisions. Of course you can have a say if something totally out of order is going on, but for the most part - hire the GM, let him make personnel decisions, let him hire HC and coaching staff... and let them work out the picks for QB and other important roster decisions. 

 

I really really hope, once Irsay decides who his GM will be next year, he would let them do their job and succeed or fail on their own terms. 

 

 

 

I think we’ll see that next year.  I think irsay felt he made a mistake by being lax and decided to put his foot down.  He did it with pags/grigs and it was happening again with Ballard/Reich.  I figured this was the case.  This is what bosses usually do when they leave their subordinates to do something and it doesn’t get done.  They step in and do it how they feel it has to be done because now that trust factor is gone.

 

and honestly, I can’t blame irsay for meddling at this point.  But I agree, once the GM is here, and the coach is chosen, and we get our Qb, then he has to take a back seat again.  Only difference this time is I’d like him to step in sooner rather than later

[csmopar]

10 hours ago, Moosejawcolt said:

Soft teams don't usually lead the league  in  rushing as they did last year. Just saying.

Yeah but some where in there, we went soft. Doesn’t mean we began that way. Something happened in that locker room late last season and the players attitudes changed. You could see it in interviews, practices, and games. That falls on the coach entirely.

 

to me, it started with hard knocks, that’s when I started noticing it going off the rails. Never ever should have allowed that trash into our season. 

[RollerColt]

I’m just having a thought here, scary I know… We’ve often focused on the fact that in the past Irsay was pretty hands off as an owner, but let’s look at the situation when he first became owner: 

 

In 1997, Jim Irsay takes over ownership from his father. He continues to be the GM, while Bill Tobin assists as director of operations and vice president. Bob Irsay acts as president emeritus. In addition, Lindy Infante is the head coach. We all know happens. The Colts go 3-13, worst record in the NFL and get the #1 overall pick.
 

Tobin and Lindy are let go and Jim realizes it’s too much for him to be GM, so he brings in Bill Polian, who had recently taken the Panthers to contention in a matter of just a year or so. Not only do we make Bill GM, we get him here by promoting him as President of the Colts. They draft Manning and the rest is history. 
 

Where I’m going with this: Jim in his early days as owner didn’t need to be as active in the operations because he had Bill Polian, an established, experienced, and well proven GM. He had Peyton Manning, a generational talent who eventually started to act as the other president of the team. With those two alone, it was easy for Irsay to sit back and allow the team to flourish. 
 

Just offering a different perspective on this. Because maybe without an experienced GM and head coach, Irsay doesn’t have as much faith as he did from 1998-2011.

[bluebombers87]

Lot of spinning going on in this thread.

 

Irsay needs to hand over the reins. In his tenure with the colts, he has two notable good moves that can solely put on him. The drafting of Marshall Faulk and the hiring of Bill Polian (there were other players that were good but none that were great). Any other moves aren’t clear on who was the one that made the decision.

 

His time as a GM was not good, and that’s putting it mildly. I bring it up to highlight that Irsay, functioning as a GM is not what we should be seeing based on his history. The man makes bad decisions very often.

 

And quite honestly given all the information out there about this season, I don’t think he’s one that can trusted at face value. 

[Moosejawcolt]

3 hours ago, csmopar said:

Yeah but some where in there, we went soft. Doesn’t mean we began that way. Something happened in that locker room late last season and the players attitudes changed. You could see it in interviews, practices, and games. That falls on the coach entirely.

 

to me, it started with hard knocks, that’s when I started noticing it going off the rails. Never ever should have allowed that trash into our season. 

I belive it started with Irsay and his  opposition to players who didn't get vaxxed.

[csmopar]

1 hour ago, Moosejawcolt said:

I belive it started with Irsay and his  opposition to players who didn't get vaxxed.

It’s possible but I think it started long before that

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

6 hours ago, csmopar said:

Yeah but some where in there, we went soft. Doesn’t mean we began that way. Something happened in that locker room late last season and the players attitudes changed. You could see it in interviews, practices, and games. That falls on the coach entirely.

 

to me, it started with hard knocks, that’s when I started noticing it going off the rails. Never ever should have allowed that trash into our season. 

Some of the local media has mentioned Ballard said he regrets doing hard knocks. 

[2006Coltsbestever]

6 hours ago, csmopar said:

Yeah but some where in there, we went soft. Doesn’t mean we began that way. Something happened in that locker room late last season and the players attitudes changed. You could see it in interviews, practices, and games. That falls on the coach entirely.

 

to me, it started with hard knocks, that’s when I started noticing it going off the rails. Never ever should have allowed that trash into our season. 

I thought you loved Hard Knocks, that is your favorite isn't it? 

[csmopar]

26 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I thought you loved Hard Knocks, that is your favorite isn't it? 

Nope… and yes I caught your sarcasm. I said it the day they announced the Colts would be on it that it would destroy the team, just like every single other team that has been on that piece of trash. 

30 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

Some of the local media has mentioned Ballard said he regrets doing hard knocks. 

I wonder why…. 

[DougDew]

19 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

Less visibility?   This year, Ballard has practically put himself in the witness protection program.  
 

In 17 thru 20, Ballard face quarterly seasonal updates.  Last year there were just two.   This year, will be just one— the year ender.    The only other time he’s been in front of cameras and microphones was the Saturday introduction.   CB used the occasion to blame the media for him doing a poor job. 
 

Ballard couldn't have much less visibility. 

I was talking about Irsay.  

 

[sb41champs]

Luck's sudden and surprise retirement can be directly laid at the feet of Jim Irsay - who hired Ryan Grigson as GM and turned the team in to a "dumpster fire".

 

Grigson - a former offensive lineman - couldn't draft quality offensive lineman - leading to Andrew Luck's being battered - which led to his decision to retire at the last second before the regular season.

 

Chris Ballard has been a god-send - and - has worked diligently to build a quality roster.  It needs more pieces - but - you add some each and every year.

 

Jacoby Brissett is a back-up QB - and - we were stuck with him for a season.

 

Phillip Rivers did well - but - was supposed to stay two years - he didn't.

 

Carson Wentz was a reclamation project - which failed in - oh - so many ways.  HUGE MISTAKE!!

 

I truly believe that Matt Ryan would have done far better as a "game manager" for two or three years - BUT - no reliable running game - due to the offensive line play - let opposing defenses batter Matt Ryan.

 

Cyclical situation!!

 

 

 

[NewColtsFan]

18 hours ago, AwesomeAustin said:

I’ve said this before, I believe Reich was the driving force behind us going the veteran QB route. I strongly believe this is why he was fired. The first draft after Luck’s retirement should have been about trying to get a franchise QB.  Ballard is often blasted by some for mainly building through the draft. I believe he would of rather drafted a QB but supported his coach. Irsay is now getting involved bc it has hit the wall the normally happens bc the veteran QB strategy hardly ever works. We will see a minor rebuild of the team with Ballard working with the new coach to identify a QB and build around him. I’m optimistic this will all work out. 

The first draft after Luck retired was 2020.

 

Ballard traded the first round pick for Buckner.   That seemed entirely Ballard’s idea, not Reich’s. 

[chickenMan]

This may sound crazy but...I actually like all of the moves Irsay did.

 

First off, benching Ryan; Matt sucked this year, no way around it. I think Irsay’s logic here was to play Sam and see if he had what it takes, and if not tank for a new QB from a solid QB class in the next draft. That’s exactly how I would have played it too. (And benching Ryan for Foles?! Really Frank?)

 

On firing Reich and hiring Jeff; Reich was too soft and kept getting lost in playcalling instead of coaching. That was apparent to everyone. Now here’s a guy that preaches accountability and who served as a great team leader for many, many years for the Colts. Bring him in and see if he can fix the mess, and if not then continue the tank. Not the best choice, but better than letting Reich scrape together a few more lousy wins just to go 8-8-1 and miss the playoffs and a high draft pick for a QB (just like last year).

 

On Wentz; Wentz has so much talent that is wasted by him always trying to play hero ball...he was not going to be the answer here, and getting him out of here was the right move (sorry Carson). I don’t blame Irsay for losing confidence in Reich following that mess.

 

I don’t like owner interference, but I feel like the media portrays all of these moves as devastating, franchise-ruining moves when really they make sense if you’re trying to tank for a new Andrew Luck while cutting out the stagnant parts of the team. Team owners can say all the time that they don’t tank, they would never tank, tanking is awful, blah blah blah, but the fact of the matter is that it works. How did teams like the Bengals or Bills get Burrow and Allen? They had high draft picks from being awful. It just works.
 

I think all of this can be fixed with the right QB being drafted and the right HC being hired. 

[JColts72]

14 minutes ago, chickenMan said:

This may sound crazy but...I actually like all of the moves Irsay did.

 

First off, benching Ryan; Matt sucked this year, no way around it. I think Irsay’s logic here was to play Sam and see if he had what it takes, and if not tank for a new QB from a solid QB class in the next draft. That’s exactly how I would have played it too. (And benching Ryan for Foles?! Really Frank?)

 

On firing Reich and hiring Jeff; Reich was too soft and kept getting lost in playcalling instead of coaching. That was apparent to everyone. Now here’s a guy that preaches accountability and who served as a great team leader for many, many years for the Colts. Bring him in and see if he can fix the mess, and if not then continue the tank. Not the best choice, but better than letting Reich scrape together a few more lousy wins just to go 8-8-1 and miss the playoffs and a high draft pick for a QB (just like last year).

 

On Wentz; Wentz has so much talent that is wasted by him always trying to play hero ball...he was not going to be the answer here, and getting him out of here was the right move (sorry Carson). I don’t blame Irsay for losing confidence in Reich following that mess.

 

I don’t like owner interference, but I feel like the media portrays all of these moves as devastating, franchise-ruining moves when really they make sense if you’re trying to tank for a new Andrew Luck while cutting out the stagnant parts of the team. Team owners can say all the time that they don’t tank, they would never tank, tanking is awful, blah blah blah, but the fact of the matter is that it works. How did teams like the Bengals or Bills get Burrow and Allen? They had high draft picks from being awful. It just works.
 

I think all of this can be fixed with the right QB being drafted and the right HC being hired. 

You actually like the Saturday move? Wow..

[KB]

I'm thinking it was all on purpose. Irsay saw we were middle of the pack purgatory and made the moves to get us in good draft position. He knows he is getting all the flack, even if not outright saying it, and wants it that way. Just like how he got in Peytons head before the colts vs Denver game when it was in Indy. Like it him ot not, this man is playing chess. Not checkers. 

[Superman]

4 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

The first draft after Luck retired was 2020.

 

Ballard traded the first round pick for Buckner.   That seemed entirely Ballard’s idea, not Reich’s. 

 

I think the point is that they decided to sign Rivers instead of drafting a QB, and that decision seems closely connected to Reich. 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, JColts72 said:

You actually like the Saturday move? Wow..

Understanding the move helps.

[GoColts8818]

13 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I think the point is that they decided to sign Rivers instead of drafting a QB, and that decision seems closely connected to Reich. 

Honestly I don’t have an issue with that.  Where I think the mistakes started was that there were reports Rivers wanted to come back to Indy for one more year and the Colts pushed him out the door.  If that’s true I think that was Reich driven because of his love for Wentz.  
 

Either way it seems like Irsay felt like the mistake was going in on Wentz and he held Reich, and not Ballard responsible for that.  I think that made Irsay no longer trust Reich and that’s why he started getting more involved and ultimately lead to Reich being fired.  
 

I agree with you while Irsay and Ballard might have disagreed about Saturday I do think Irsay may still have faith in Ballard.  If that’s the case I hope the Colts hire a coach Irsay trusts and if he does I think you’ll see him back off again, at least I hope so.  
 

One thing that did disturb me during the Saturday introduction presser was Irsay taking so much credit for winning.  While it’s true they have won a lot with him as Owner he was talking about it like he was making it happen.  That’s not the case a lot of it was Polian at the helm combined with a Hall of Fame Coach and QB followed by another great QB who was going to win regardless of what you put around him.  I just hope Irsay doesn’t have it in his head he was the brain behind all that winning.  Most of that winning was because Irsay trusted the people he hired to do their jobs and wrote the checks.  

[bluebombers87]

19 minutes ago, GoColts8818 said:

Honestly I don’t have an issue with that.  Where I think the mistakes started was that there were reports Rivers wanted to come back to Indy for one more year and the Colts pushed him out the door.  If that’s true I think that was Reich driven because of his love for Wentz.  
 

Either way it seems like Irsay felt like the mistake was going in on Wentz and he held Reich, and not Ballard responsible for that.  I think that made Irsay no longer trust Reich and that’s why he started getting more involved and ultimately lead to Reich being fired.  
 

I agree with you while Irsay and Ballard might have disagreed about Saturday I do think Irsay may still have faith in Ballard.  If that’s the case I hope the Colts hire a coach Irsay trusts and if he does I think you’ll see him back off again, at least I hope so.  
 

One thing that did disturb me during the Saturday introduction presser was Irsay taking so much credit for winning.  While it’s true they have won a lot with him as Owner he was talking about it like he was making it happen.  That’s not the case a lot of it was Polian at the helm combined with a Hall of Fame Coach and QB followed by another great QB who was going to win regardless of what you put around him.  I just hope Irsay doesn’t have it in his head he was the brain behind all that winning.  Most of that winning was because Irsay trusted the people he hired to do their jobs and wrote the checks.  

I’ve always held the belief that our greatest success has been the Polian era, which appears to be a very capable GM acting with near autonomy and very little input or meddling from Irsay. 
 

I think the problem we’ve had recently is that they were trying this leadership by committee and not on the same page.

[Indyfan4life]

2 hours ago, JColts72 said:

You actually like the Saturday move? Wow..

You actually think making Saturday the INTERIM HC on a lost season really matters? Wow...

[bluebombers87]

4 minutes ago, Indyfan4life said:

You actually think making Saturday the INTERIM HC on a lost season really matters? Wow...

We were 3-3-1 in a division where 9-8 or 8-8 will win it.

[Solid84]

4 minutes ago, bluebombers87 said:

We were 3-3-1 in a division where 9-8 or 8-8 will win it.

We were 3-5-1 when Saturday took over. 

[bluebombers87]

1 minute ago, Solid84 said:

We were 3-5-1 when Saturday took over. 

Still wasn’t out of reach.

 

Edit - We we’re 3-3-1 when Irsay demanded we bench Ryan.

[Indyfan4life]

2 minutes ago, bluebombers87 said:

We were 3-3-1 in a division where 9-8 or 8-8 will win it.

And your point? It was obvious what was going on. The moment Ryan was benched for Sam and Frank was let go, the season was done.

[bluebombers87]

1 minute ago, Indyfan4life said:

And your point? It was obvious what was going on. The moment Ryan was benched for Sam and Frank was let go, the season was done.

Yes…. That was his point. When all those things happened, because of Irsay, we were done and we didn’t like the solution proffered by Irsay.