Indianapolis Colts

An Open Letter to Colts owner Jim Irsay

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:40 p.m. ET

Fansided, Nolan Schmidt/FanSided via Horseshoe Heroes

Restless Colts fans have been attached to their televisions and mobile devices the last two days. They wait anxiously for owner Jim Irsay’s decision on the future of GM Ryan Grigson and Head Coach Chuck Pagano. As the hours go by however, fans are still left without answers.

Dear Mr. Irsay,

As another season of mediocrity has came and went, we are left with so many inquiries. Will Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano return in 2017? What will be done to protect Andrew Luck, the franchise’s most valuable asset? How will the defense be improved, through free agency? Through the draft? Yet, you have continually left us without any answers.

Most notably, and perhaps most importantly Grigson and Pagano’s fate has yet to be decided or even spoken about for the most part. We are simply left with conflicting media reports which only helps to muddy the already dirty water.

You continually toy and almost insult the loyal fan base of the Indianapolis Colts, Mr. Irsay. The opinion of Pagano and Grigson has been overwhelmingly negative among fans. But what did you do when fans wanted Pagano and Grigson out after the atrocity that was the 2015 season? Why you gave them an extension of course! An almost blatant slap in the face to the passionate Indianapolis loyalists.

Now, you have chosen to play mind games with fans. Leaving them in the dark and refusing to divulge any information as to which way you are leaning. Not only are you hurting the fans, but you may also hurt Pagano and Grigson based on what you eventually decide.

On the one hand, given all of the backlash regarding Pagano and Grigson from fans, you are digging a deep grave for yourself if you choose to keep them. No worries though, because Colts fans will gladly fill the grave you have so graciously dug for yourself, if that happens to be the case. We realize by firing Grigson and Pagano, your hair gel expenses will go up because sharing hair gel with them is far more economical. However, that is not a valid enough reason to keep such middling minds on the sidelines and in the front office.

Think of what you are doing to Mr. Pagano and Mr. Grigson throughout this whole ordeal. On Black Monday, a day where inadequate NFL coaches are relieved of their duties, Chuck Pagano went to the podium(with too many buttons undone on his shirt) and said he thinks he will be in Indianapolis next season. What if you decide to fire him Mr. Irsay? How that will that make you look in the eyes of potential coaching candidates? Chuck Pagano is not a good coach, but he is a nice guy, in every sense of the way. He does not deserve to be given the runaround by you, especially regarding his job status. Aside from his lackluster coaching abilities he deserves to be respected.

Perhaps it is that “nice guy” persona that causes you to be hesitant in deciding his fate. In fact, hesitancy is the worst way to go about this. You must either give him the good news or rip the bad news off like a Band-Aid on a particularly hairy part of the body. It is this “nice guy” image that has factored in to the Colts inconsistent and pedestrian performance. He is no doubt a great motivator, but when has sheer motivation led to consistent on-field success? Sure his 49-31 record as coach is nothing to snuff at, but if you dive deeper the Colts have been relatively inconsistent throughout his tenure.

As for Grigson, he is not a nice guy nor is he a good General Manager. My (and Colts fans) distaste for him is only exacerbated by his icy demeanor and excessive use of hair gel. I mean seriously, the guy is greasier than Daniel Day-Lewis. None the less, he deserves to be informed as well, even if he is a mafia member.

Regardless, light needs to be shed on this situation, Mr. Irsay. Fans are past the point of restlessness and have graduated to the “frustrated, almost boiling” stage. The sooner you rectify this situation, the sooner you will save your reputation with Colts fans. To go through all of this and keep Pagano and Grigson would only turn more fans away. By keeping them, you have illustrated to us that you are okay with middle-of-the-road. Even though, you have displayed your displeasure with the team’s performance publicly.

At this point, you cannot win this situation, Mr. Irsay. Either fans will despise you if you keep Pagano and Grigson. Or those two (and many others in the NFL community) will lose respect for you after you teased Pagano and Grigson, but turned right around and gave them a cold shower. Do yourself a favor and make a decision, at least then you can save some face with us and them.

Sincerely,

Nolan Schmidt