The Indianapolis Colts football team on the field is not entertaining at all. In fact, more fans are openly walking away from watching the game at halftime. However, the Colts off the football field have been about as entertaining as a team can be. Former head coach Frank Reich repeatedly stated after games that he was outcoached. Only now, the team decided that they finally agreed.
The current general manager Chris Ballard has avoided talking to the media and left it solely up to Reich. Owner Jim Irsay will graciously talk after every team win, but after losses, he wants nothing to do with the media. Then the team decided to blame the team’s failures on their offensive coordinator. Only to have the next week be an even worse performance. Which led to the termination of Reich.
Jim Irsay stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight
Backing up a bit, Irsay has been in the news a lot more this year than in years past. He had his band get together and put on a show at Lucas Oil Stadium. He even spoke to the media about the owner situation that is going on in Washington. This season he’s had his hands on the team transactions even more than usual.
It started at the conclusion of last season when he effectively told Ballard that Carson Wentz was not to be on the roster anymore. So, Ballard had to move his starting QB while not having a viable backup option in place. Then the team was lucky enough to land Matt Ryan, which unfortunately didn’t work out.
So, Irsay stepped in and told Reich and Ballard that former sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger needed to be the starter. The head coach and GM obliged their boss’s request. This move so far hasn’t panned out well, either. Naturally, Irsay fired his head coach, and instead of letting his GM decide who would be the interim head coach, Irsay selected one of his former players in Jeff Saturday.
When you think back to the days when Saturday played. You think of Peyton Manning, Bill Polian, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Saturday, Tarik Glenn, Edgerrin James, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis, Bob Sanders, and then Irsay. Maybe Irsay wants it known that when this team gets back to its winning ways, it will be due to what he’s done.
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Indianapolis Colts owner doesn’t know what he’s doing
At the press conference to introduce Saturday as the new head coach, both Irsay and Ballard fielded questions. Saturday was pleasant, and looking forward to getting to work on this week’s game plan. On the other hand, both Irsay and Ballard were defiant, out there, and aggressive with their answers.
This is real life, folks. What is happening currently with the Colts is happening in real life. It’s up for debate if what is currently happening was pitched as an idea for a movie or a TV show or if it would even be green-lit for production. Yet, here is where the Colts and the fan base are currently.
Yet, the arrogance that Irsay is currently operating with is a bit baffling. The man was previously a GM for this franchise. He held this position from 1984-1993. In that time frame, the team made the playoffs once and had a winning season only three times.
And not only that, Irsay himself has said that he was not a good GM. Yet, here he is, being the GM of his team once again. He is the one who made the call to hire Reich and Saturday. Irsay is the one who decided it was time for Ehlinger to be the starter.
And with all this being said, he’s the owner of his team, so he can run it however he wants. The problem is he’s slowly turning into this father in making emotional and knee-jerk reactions. He is ruining his credibility when he says Reich is safe and then fires him a week later and the reputation of the team.
The question has to be asked. With everything that is currently happening, how many potential head coaching candidates are going to even be interested in the Colts’ position? This season, Irsay is flexing his muscles for everyone to see. And if you’re one of his employees, you better be a yes man, or you’ll be out of a job.
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