by Bert Beiswanger
Are Indianapolis Colts fans having trouble coming to grips with the fact that greatness doesn’t last forever? Listening to local sports talk radio Tuesday night, you would have thought that Jim Irsay, one of the most respected owners in the NFL, has lost his mind.
By the end of the evening, I could surmise from some fans that:
a). Jim Irsay is some wild man who tweets about Pink Floyd all the time, is a goofy, slick dresser and doesn’t know a damn thing about running a successful organization.
b). New G.M. Ryan Grigson, who has been on the job for all of five days, was a bad hire. Yeah, I sensed he had some nervousness that translated into some stand-offish answers. This is all a little new to him. But I also sensed he was tired of answering the same question for 30 minutes and wanted to get busy with the job at hand. He knows we don’t know all the facts and we don’t need to.
Listening to people’s reactions – even some in the media – was kind of comical. Judging by the opinions of some, you would have thought that Jim Irsay and Ryan Grigson have been twirling their thumbs the last few days. How could there be reports one minute that Jim Caldwell was being retained then an announcement a couple hours later that Caldwell was being fired?!
Clearly we don’t know all the facts. But that doesn’t mean Grigson and Irsay don’t. What changed? I don’t know. But something did. You don’t just fire Caldwell after an exhaustive process without having a reason and a plan.
Folks, it’s time to come to grips with the fact that it may be time to move on. People act as if they know Manning will be healthy and greatness for this franchise will last forever. They’re arguing Peyton this and Peyton that: The Colts can’t get rid of Manning! Getting rid of Caldwell must mean they’re getting rid of Manning! Uh, does anyone know if the guy is even healthy? Do you want to throw $28 million at a 36 year old quarterback who’s had three neck surgeries in 17 months, while you can start grooming Andrew Luck right now? Do you even know if Manning will be 100 percent? If he’s not, debating what the Colts should do with Manning is a moot point.
I know Andrew Luck is going to take his lumps. But he’s not going to take them sitting on the bench. Sure, he could learn from the bench, too, but this isn’t just any quarterback we’re talking about. This is what many are calling the best NFL-ready quarterback to come out of college since Peyton Manning. And with the depletion of talent on this team right now (and don’t tell me about all of the talented pro-bowlers still on this team. Those guys just went 2-14) and the question of Manning’s health, it may be time to move on.
Look, this team was severely deficient heading into this season. Just look at the opening week secondary and O-line. If you don’t believe that then you’re blinded by blue-colored glasses. And this team isn’t going to be championship caliber next year, with or without Peyton Manning.
Has this all unfolded smoothly? No. Is this the way we want this era to end? No. But just because we don’t have all the answers doesn’t mean Irsay and Grigson don’t know what they’re doing. There are reasons why this has unfolded the way it has. We just don’t know exactly why and frankly, we don’t need to know.
What I do know is Jim Irsay has been the steward of a franchise that set NFL records that will be hard to break (most wins in a decade, most consecutive 12 win seasons, and on and on). He doesn’t have a track record of making wild, knee-jerk decisions. He had the same president/G.M. for 14 years! During that time the Colts had all of three coaches.
I trust Irsay knows what he’s doing.
