Ryan Grigson May Help Recruit Next Colts Head Coach, But Might Not Be Retained

According to ESPN’s Mike Wells, Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson will remain with the team during the organization’s imminent head coaching search, but may not ultimately be retained:

It’s a bit of a puzzling situation for the Colts, as Grigson may help team owner Jim Irsay recruit the next head coach who eventually pushes him out of the door.

Nov 29, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson (right) and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay talk before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Specifically, there’s been speculation that the Colts could hire a head coach who will want to oversee player personnel decision-making himself or handpick his own general manager–rather than retain Grigson.

Of course, the underlying development of this update (and what’s been speculated for weeks) is that head coach Chuck Pagano will in fact be coaching his last game on the sidelines for the Colts on Sunday, as the organization appears to have already made their decision of parting ways.

Still, while Pagano clearly appears to be on his way out, it’s possible that Grigson could remain with the organization even with a new head coach onboard–in a shared/lesser decision-making role.

Not only has it been widely reported that Grigson still has a positive working relationship with Irsay and his family, but he also has one year remaining on his contract. That’s probably a key reason as to why Irsay is keeping Grigson’s services around for the head coaching hunt and perhaps even the extended future.

That being said, it looks like Grigson’s organizational fate could ultimately be determined by the next Colts head coach–a search that his boss Irsay is expected to be heavily involved with.