Indianapolis Colts all-time wide receiver great Reggie Wayne, who is now an analyst for NFL Network shared his sentiment on general manager Ryan Grigson‘s recent firing–including some ‘strange’ encounters:
"Jan 4, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (87) waves to the crowd after the 2014 AFC Wild Card playoff football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports“Let me tell you this,” said Reggie Wayne on NFL Network Saturday. “When I re-signed back with the Colts in 2012, I re-signed with them and was happy to be back. It was a bunch of new faces and that was fine.”“But I didn’t really sit down and have a real conversation with Ryan Grigson until like Week 11. Like we would walk past each other in the hallway and not say anything, and then one day around Week 11, Week 12, he called me into his office and we had like a two hour conversation.”“So that right there was kind of weird–with me being an ‘old head’ as you can say in the bunch, you would think that he would want to sit down and have a conversation with me a lot sooner. So it was kind of strange and that was just the way he operated.”“I understand that it was his first time being a general manager, and he had to learn the ropes and things like that, but it was a lot of little things that he did here and there that was a little bit awkward.”"
When asked about Pat McAfee firing social media shots at Grigson following news of his termination, Wayne suggested that McAfee’s mentality towards the Colts ex-general manager wasn’t necessarily alone among the team’s players:
"Dec 24, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson walks before an a NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports“Yeah, a lot of those guys they won’t say anything, but Pat McAfee is Pat,” added Wayne. “He’s going to speak to his mind, but Pat hit it right on the head. He was a little different cat. He was a little different in how he operated. He was almost like ‘Deebo‘ (from the Friday series) in there. He walked around and kind of tried to put fear in people, and that ain’t the way you do it.”“One thing about players is that if they like you and they love you, they will lay it on the line for you. If you walk through there, and you’re showing signs of arrogance, guys are going to see through that–and they are not going to lay it on the line for you.”"
It’s not the first time that Wayne has shared his displeasure regarding the Colts former general manager, and to be fair, there could still be some hard feelings from when Grigson essentially let Wayne go following the 2014 season.
My guess is too that if Grigson’s teams had actually performed better recently and made the playoffs this past season that he’d still be the general manager of the Colts–despite how he came off as a person, as winning normally cures all woes.
That being said, there have been a number of current or former Colts under Grigson, who have come out now to voice their dissatisfaction with his treatment of members within the organization, as well as his job performance.
The fact that it’s Wayne of all recent and current Colts players, who is among the greatest players in franchise history to ever don the horseshoe carries a significant amount of weight.
There may be two sides to the story in some instances–another one that we’ll never hear, but at the same time, Grigson appears to be a polarizing figure to at least a number of members of the Colts organization who worked with him during his 5-year tenure.
However, count Wayne as one of those members, who was happy that Grigson was ultimately relieved of his duties on Saturday:
"“Like I said, this was a long time coming,” concluded Wayne. “Jim Irsay took his time with it–and I respect that, and ultimately, he made the right decision.”"