Colts Fire General Manager Ryan Grigson; Chuck Pagano Still in Limbo
By Kyle Nishida
The Indianapolis Colts have relieved general manager Ryan Grigson of his duties. This is one decision Irsay had to make in order to move his franchise forward in the right direction.
In the five seasons with Grigson at the helm, the Colts went 49-31 and made the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. His deepest playoff run came in 2014 when the Colts reached the AFC Championship in the 2014 season. After that, the team took a large downturn under his watch.
The Colts had a 16-16 record combined in the final two seasons of his tenure without any playoff appearances. The quality of the roster noticeably dipped in 2015 and did not get any better in 2016.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news of Grigson’s firing on Twitter.
Colts have relieved GM Ryan Grigson of his duties, league source tells ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 21, 2017
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Earlier this month, Irsay reportedly had meetings with Peyton Manning to try to get him to take over the Colts’ head of football operations (i.e Grigson’s job).
For now, Manning has declined all invites for undisclosed reasons. On the flip side, everyone knew Grigson was on the hot seat once the Manning reports started appearing.
Ultimately, the past two seasons and Grigson’s inability to work with other ended his tenure in Indianapolis. Obviously, everyone knows he is responsible for the decline in the Colts’ overall roster. However, there was also constant turmoil revolving around Grigson.
In 2015, Rumors suggested Grigson and Chuck Pagano constantly butted heads with one another. Supposedly, Grigson would try to force his input into coaching staff’s weekly gameplans. Pagano’s unwillingness to do so undoubtedly created a rift between the two.
The firing of Grigson should be surprising to many because a lot of people thought Pagano would be the first to be canned. Irsay and Grigson have been described as “BFFs” so most people believed Irsay would be unwilling to fire a close friend.
Well, it appears Irsay is done letting personal relationships control his franchise; at least when it comes to him and Grigson.
The next question is: what will happen to Chuck Pagano. It is not often a general manager gets fired while the head coach and staff remains employed.
As far as I can tell, the #Colts are only moving on from Ryan Grigson. No word on Chuck Pagano. (@AdamSchefter 1st reported Grigson news)
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2017
#Colts coach Chuck Pagano is believed to be safe at this point, another source said. Jim Irsay should (maybe) have more at 5:30 pm.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2017
The Colts are holding a press conference likely to just announce the decision to fire Grigson. Questions about Pagano’s job security will certainly be asked and will more than likely be answered at this press conference.
Although, Rapoport’s source believes Pagano is “safe at this point,” Irsay could still make the decision to fire Pagano some time in the future. Irsay is that unpredictable sometimes.
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Overall, the firing of Grigson will make a lot of people happy. However, it would be best for Irsay to let everyone know what he plans on doing with the Colts moving forward.