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The game-day presence of Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon on the team’s sideline has drawn plenty of attention and scrutiny, much of it far from complimentary.
She says she’s merely trying to educate herself about the organization’s football operations and coaching approach to be more effective as the franchise’s leader.
“I like to say on a good day I have like a fifth-grade reading level understanding of the game and just the basic concepts of what we’re trying to do, depending on the week and depending on our opponent and depending on the situation,” Irsay-Gordon told Bridget Condon of Front Office Sports Tonight on Monday in London.
“But I think, then, it just helps to understand and to ask questions because I think one of the things, in my opinion, like being a good leader is about listening, really to understand. And I think that’s what the best teams do.”
Irsay-Gordon and her sister, Colts owner and chief brand officer Kalen Jackson, spoke to FOS the day after their team moved to 2–2 by beating the Commanders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They also participated in Monday’s Women in (American) Football event at the same stadium.
Irsay-Gordon became the Colts’ principal owner and CEO following the death of her father, Jim Irsay, last year. Irsay-Gordon and Jackson’s other sister, Casey Foyt, is also a Colts owner and executive vice president. All three had been owners and vice chairs of the team for 14 seasons prior to taking their new roles.
The public debate about Irsay-Gordon’s sideline habits intensified following Sunday’s win.
Bill Simmons said on his podcast Monday: “I’m not going to tiptoe around this anymore, right? And I know it’s been a topic the last couple weeks. I think the owner on the sidelines taking notes is fucking nuts. I think it’s nuts. … I think it’s bonkers. I can’t believe she does this.
“And I can’t believe people in her life haven’t talked her out of it. … If a male owner was doing this, we would be ridiculing this guy ’til the cows came home. … We would think it was so fucking funny if some, you know, rich guy male owner was on the sideline with a notebook, like, hovering over and giving advice to the coach. … Even Jerry Jones wouldn’t do that.”
Irsay-Gordon retained coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard for this season after the Colts lost eight of nine games following a 7-1 start last season to miss the playoffs.
“With our dad passing away and kind of now me, you know, the title changed a lot of what I was doing,” she told FOS Tonight. “ … [But] what I’m still doing isn’t any different. So I think that’s been something … to be more mindful of, that now people might be paying more attention to what I’m doing.”
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