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#31
08-02-2026, 02:54 PM
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I'm very excited about the season. I've found the off-season conversation pretty fucking amusing as it's nearly a mirror of last season's. Same as last year, I anticipate a similar schizophrenic shift in tone once the season starts.
There's always been outcome bias with a lot of guys. I don't know how many times I've made the poker analogy here. But the past 8-9 months has been a fascinating - impressive even - display of hindsight bias. The broader sentiment going into the season was a totally mid roster that will win 8 games. Then at 7-1 and after torching the #2 and #5 defenses and going toe to toe with the Rams... It became, "Oh, the roster has been good the whole time. We just needed stable, competent QB play." And then after Jones goes down and we're at 8-9 it was, "See? 8 wins like I said from the beginning." As if not having your starting QB, backup QB, best pass rusher, best CB, and newly acquired even better CB, etc., was all part of that pre-season equation. I've heard of some radicals who argue that these are important positions. 
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#32
08-04-2026, 08:29 PM
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Keep your political crap out of a football forum! Nobody here gives a rat's a**
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#33
10-05-2026, 10:48 PM
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o
'It's Nuts !!!!' ...... Bill Simmons Rips Colts Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon for Her Sideline Behavior (By Andrew Holleran) https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nu...182722845.html Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer and Grantland, is done hiding his feelings on Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and her sideline behavior. Irsay-Gordon, who took over running the Colts for her late father, Jim Irsay, is consistently making headlines for standing on the sideline during games. She stands on the sideline and takes notes. She's been spotted at times wearing a headset, too. NFL teams typically only have a certain number of available headsets, so when she does this, she's taking away the headset from a member of the coaching staff or team. Simmons believes that it's "nuts" that Irsay-Gordon is still doing this. "I'm not going to tip-toe around this anymore ...... and I know that it's been a topic for the last couple of weeks ...... I think that the owner on the sidelines taking notes is fucking nuts. I think it's nuts !!! I think that it's bonkers !!!" Simmons ranted on his latest podcast, according to Awful Announcing. "I can't believe that she does this, and I can't believe people in her life haven't talked her out of it. "And now there's this push of like, 'Oh, no, no, she's really into it.' If a male owner was doing this, we would be ridiculing this guy until the cows come home ...… we would think that it was so fucking funny if some rich guy, male owner was on the sideline with a notebook hovering over and giving advice to the coach. Even Jerry Jones wouldn't do that !!! And Irsay's daughter is doing it, and we're like, 'Oh, yeah, well, you know, she cares about the team.' Why are we making excuses for how weird this is ???" Irsay-Gordon has defended her decisions in the past. However, it's fair to suggest that if Jerry Jones or Robert Kraft started doing this every Sunday, it would be a No. 1 story on ESPN every morning. For now, the Colts owner appears to be avoiding mainstream media criticism for her sideline behavior. Colts Owner Defends Her Sideline Behavior Irsay-Gordon previously defended her decision making on the sideline. "I think that one of the things that I learned in going through, even as far back as when we hired Chuck Pagano in 2012, is that that sort of accelerated my, 'I need to learn more about this,'" Irsay-Gordon told the Colts' official website in June of 2025. "'I need to be able to say, is this person full of BS ??? Do they even know what they're talking about ??? And I think that one of the things that being on the headset has really helped me learn is to the question earlier, it's such a complex organism of a football team and how it operates." The Colts improved to 2-2 on the year with a win over the Commanders in London on Sunday. o
__________________
BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
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#34
10-06-2026, 12:24 AM
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First, fuck Bill Simmons.
The only problem with Carly on the sidelines is we are losing. When we were winning it was cool. She has her own way of leading. Her on the sidlines is the least of the Colts issues.
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#35
10-06-2026, 07:28 AM
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#36
10-06-2026, 07:54 AM
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Hey, it's your world. I'm just gonna play in it for a while. 
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#37
10-06-2026, 01:13 PM
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You know what would be pretty amazing ??? If 30 years from now, almost all of the team owners in the NFL were doing what Carlie Irsay-Gordon is currently doing so that they would know their asses from their elbows in regard to what the coaches that they hired are actually doing, and how well they are doing it ...... what she is doing in order to educate herself (and also to use as potential mitigating factors as to whether or not the Colts' success or failure is largely due to coaching inadequacy or player inadequacy) could become a "thing" someday, and people like Bill Simmons will look even more obnoxious, judgmental, and arrogant than they already do now. o
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BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
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#38
10-10-2026, 12:44 PM
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A different take on the matter ...... Carlie Irsay-Gordon Takes Notes on the sideline ...... It Raises a Larger Leadership Question (By Rustin Dodd) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/767...ne-leadership/ While most NFL owners spend games following along from an executive suite, Carlie Irsay-Gordon watches from the sideline near the Indianapolis Colts’ bench, headset on and notebook in hand. The routine began years ago, when her father, Jim Irsay, owned the team. But when Irsay-Gordon, 45, became a principal owner and CEO of the Colts last year, she said that she still possessed an elementary understanding of football and the action on the field. To be a better leader, she wanted to know the nuances of the game. For one season, the novelty of an owner on the sideline was mostly viewed as fodder for broadcasts, a window into a new boss. But when Irsay-Gordon returned to the bench this year, including during a nationally televised game from London this past Sunday, the images intensified debates about the proper behavior of owners. On one hand, an inexperienced owner was trying to learn and understand how her subordinates make decisions. On the other hand, it’s a highly unusual approach from a principal owner ...... even among involved owners such as the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, who regularly weighs in publicly on his team’s performance. Beyond the dynamics of one NFL team ...... and one owner ...... is a broader leadership question that stretches to every industry and organization ...... the thin line between support and interference. How does a leader know when they’re overstepping ??? For Tanya Menon, a professor of management at Ohio State University, the Irsay-Gordon situation illustrates a classic example of what psychologists call “evaluation apprehension,” the idea that people generally perform worse on tests or assignments when they feel that they are being watched or observed. It doesn’t even matter whether people are literally being evaluated ..... research shows that even the perception can undermine performance. “The owner or the boss or the professor can say, ‘I’m just here to learn. I’m here to understand,’” Menon said. “And that’s not what the other person is actually experiencing.” Of course, observation is not harmful in every context. In the 1960s, social psychologist Robert Zajonc developed a theory of social facilitation, in which the mere presence of others could improve the performance of physical tasks ...... such as running on a treadmill or lifting weights ...... but hinder performance in complex subjects such as math. The issue, Menon said, became visible in the corporate world when some CEOs decided to ditch their corner suites in favor of a simple cubicle in the middle of the office. In an effort to signal solidarity or gain better access to the flow of information, the executives often undermined their own workers. “It’s a lot more egalitarian,” Menon said. “I’m sitting in the middle. I’m sitting with my people. I don’t have a fancy office. But it can have real effects on people. They’re performing for you. They’re politicking in front of you. And that affects their work.” Others, however, have a different perspective. Amy Edmondson, a professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School, said that she observed a subtle power in the act of Irsay-Gordon taking notes on the sideline. “It signals respect,” Edmondson said. “If someone is taking notes, it’s a simple way of saying what is happening right now is important enough for me to capture it. It also sends us a message that this is what we do ...... we pay attention and we try to get smarter and more thoughtful.” On Monday, when Irsay-Gordon appeared at a Women in Football event in London, she reiterated that her approach was rooted in learning, telling reporter Bridget Condon of Front Office Sports Tonight that she wanted to ask better questions. “It just helps to understand and to ask questions,” she said. “Because I think that one of the things, in my opinion ...... being a good leader is about listening.” Irsay-Gordon took control of the Colts in 2025 ...... along with her 2 sisters ...... when Jim Irsay died at the age of 65. She is one of just 5 women who act as principal owners in the NFL. Irsay-Gordon is present at almost every practice and walk-through. She has traveled on the road with scouts. She keeps hours that resemble a member of the coaching staff. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a more process-driven person than her,” Chris Ballard, the Colts’ general manager, told The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue last year for a profile on Irsay-Gordon. During game days, Irsay-Gordon told Rodrigue that she either only wears an earpiece or does not speak into the microphone on her headset ...... but her actions as a leader stand out as unorthodox among owners. Edmondson, the Harvard professor, wondered whether the reaction to her presence on the sideline echoed similar challenges facing women in leadership roles in other industries. “The most talked about and robust is the competence-likability trade-off,” Edmondson said. “When men are competent, they’re likable. When women show signs of competence, it diminishes their likability. “It is manageable, but it has to be managed. You sort of have to go out of your way to demonstrate warmth.” Steven D. Cohen, a professor of practice at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, said that there were also ways to manage the tension between being present and curious while not interfering. “What I often tell leaders is to frame it in this way,” Cohen said. “Am I getting involved because this person needs my help, or because I need to feel in control ???” The most effective leaders, Cohen said, often follow the framework of “autonomy-supportive leadership,” which features “high clarity, high availability, but low unnecessary control.” Put another way ...... one of the simplest ways for a leader to resolve the attention and empower others, said Amy Young, a professor of business communications at the University of Michigan, is to be transparent about their presence and explain the purpose. If they don’t, the people working for them will create their own version of why. “Everything a leader does ...... especially a CEO ...... carries a lot of weight,” Young said. “So her being there is not going to go unnoticed, and it will have an impact.” o
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BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
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#40
Today, 12:48 AM
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o
Chris Ballard’s Firing Marks Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s First Real Chance to Reshape the Colts (By Conor Orr) https://www.si.com/nfl/chris-ballard...-reshape-colts Chris Ballard has been let go, before he could take another massive swing in an attempt to reverse the Colts’ fortunes at the November 10th trade deadline. The NFL’s firing season began on Monday, with the first major change being a general manager and not a head coach. Like the Dolphins’ firing of Chris Grier around this time last year, there are both optical reasons and practical reasons to make the decision now. Ballard got 9 and-a-half years to try to put his stamp on the organization, which included multiple attempts to replace Andrew Luck at quarterback. His lack of success in that department, specifically, and the subsequent attempts to make up for that decision, turned out to be his ultimate undoing. After a loss to the basement-dwelling Tennessee Titans on Sunday, a move to pacify the fan-base was necessary to prevent apathy and unrest. Ballard’s résumé, when compared to other general managers that have lasted for upwards of a decade or longer, should have set off alarm bells a long time ago. The Packers’ Brian Gutekunst and the Bills’ Brandon Beane have both reached the conference title game twice in their tenures of comparable length. Ballard finished with a sub-.500 record (72-82-1), no division titles, 2 playoff appearances and no trips to the AFC championship game. Letting him go was, at this point, a no-brainer. However, it’s important to consider that Indianapolis cannot behave irresponsibly at the trade deadline again, and will need a more long-term view if and when the team is approached about dealing stalwarts on the roster ...... which is another reason why Ballard could no longer have access to the controls. Only ownership knows if Shane Steichen will be a candidate to remain under a new general manager, and if the team plans to build around him in the future. That decision needs to be finalized before the Colts decide whether recouping their draft picks from the failed Sauce Gardner trade or cleaning up the salary-cap situation are priorities. That decision needs to be finalized before a contending team offers a 1st-round pick for Quenton Nelson. Now, let us don our nuclear-resistent protective gear, because I would like to talk about the woman making those decisions, Carlie Irsay-Gordon ...... and I would like to talk about her donning a headset on the sidelines. To be clear ...... I am pro headset ...... I am pro-owners being on the sidelines, taking notes and observing the operation from the ground up. As my friend Sheil Kapadia at The Ringer noted last week, if Irsay-Gordon was the owner of the Washington Commanders, we’d have already seen someone held responsible for their embarrassing end-of-game clock fiasco. Irsay-Gordon was attempting to b.s.-proof the process that she is now about to undergo ...... the partial, or perhaps complete, rebuilding of Indianapolis’s football operations. In many other locations, this would be about the time that an owner would phone a consulting firm ...... or multiple consulting firms......and pay a quarter million dollars for someone to sift through a handful of top GM and coaches lists (here are some good GM candidates and future head coaches, if they need a head start.) The Colts may eventually lean on additional help (as my colleague Albert Breer mentioned on the MMQB Podcast, a certain Nationwide Insurance spokesperson may be getting a phone call), but Irsay-Gordon is armed with a database of information and more pinpointed questions based on how she has witnessed the breakdown from the inside out. I find it absolutely ridiculous that people are criticizing the idea of the process itself. I don’t mean to be hyperbolic about this situation, but Irsay-Gordon’s success in this moment is a major deal for all 32 teams. If the owner hustling on the sidelines smashes the next hire or hires out of the park, we can all collectively ask more of our respective teams’ owners, who range from just as involved (with a little less of the performance art) to more concerned about the stockpile of Screaming Eagle in the luxury suite. We’ve watched what the NBA is starting to become as corpo-zombies start to chip away at the kind of emotional spending that is supposed to make an owner an integral part of a city’s fabric. Private equity is turning owners from fans into the kind of dead-inside actuaries that will one day suggest replacing a back-up quarterback with an AI-infused JUGS machine for the sake of efficiency. Irsay-Gordon represents the NFL as it was, and as it should be ...... a person ...... a family ...... shouldering the hopes and dreams of millions of people. A steward who can approve emotional spending at the trade deadline for a chance at sniffing the playoffs, and a carnival dunk-tank to absorb all the baseballs being chucked at the red button when it doesn’t work out. A human in the trenches in a world where increasing separation between the top and the bottom makes all aspects of society insufferable (and not just in a football stadium.) The next general manager could wear any number of pre-baked personality traits. We could call him or her the cap-fixer, the draft guru, or the dreaded icebreaker-wielding, Jon Gordon–reading, retreat-planning cultural fixer. This person could be successful, or not. They could bring about a Super Bowl appearance, or they could draft the franchise into oblivion. That is the risk in hiring for one of the most consequential positions in sports, where long-term and short-term planning collide in a tapestry of decisions that either work or do not. Regardless, the hire will not be a used car salesman, the likes of whom have slipped by owners in the past who haven’t spent the energy to mosey down to the field every once and a while. o
__________________
BALTIMORE COLTS ))))))))))))))))))) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Bert Jones, Johnny Unitas, Earl Morrall ))))))))).lll) Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
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