The Indianapolis Colts are in a precarious position as the season gets closer to the end. The front office and coaching combination has not produced the desired results after five years, and ownership faces a difficult decision: continue forward or reboot the franchise.
Reboots are all the rage in the entertainment industry. We’ve recently seen a successful film franchise like Star Wars be taken to new heights under better leadership, and it is leading others to do the same. Jim Irsay and the Indianapolis Colts should do the same thing and reboot this franchise.
They’ll keep certain elements in the new regime like Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton and plenty of others (there are some salvageable pieces on this roster) but the front office staff (producers) and coach (director) have to go. The combination of GM Ryan Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano have proven time and again that they simply don’t have what it takes to build and sustain a successful franchise.
They coasted for three years on the strength of a garbage AFC South that at one point gifted them 16 division wins in a row. But since that 16th game, the Colts are 3-6 against the AFC South as the three other teams have improved over the past two years.
We’ll look at the highs and lows of both Pagano and Grigson, but the simple fact of the matter is that neither know how to sustain success. Grigson has failed at talent evaluation and Pagano fails to understand what it takes to win in the modern NFL.
Fan apathy is at an all time high, and it wouldn’t be surprising if their final home game of the season on January 1st features a half empty stadium. The worst thing that can happen for a franchise is for the fans to not care, and that goes double for a moderate market like Indianapolis.
Irsay should have made a change in direction last January, but now that he’s had another season to evaluate the two it is clear they can’t get it done. It is past time that the Colts get the right people in charge of the franchise.