Irsay-Gordon: Colts leaders face urgency to deliver

INDIANAPOLIS -- While Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon's decision to retain coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard despite a seven-game season-ending losing streak is behind her, she acknowledged Monday the scrutiny of that choice is only beginning.

"You're right to be frustrated with how the latter part of our season went," Irsay-Gordon said in an opening statement to the team's fans during a Monday news conference. "I'm pissed. We are all pissed."

She added, "I want our fans to know I hear them ... It's not good enough. It's not to the standard ... [The players] played their asses off this year, but at the end of the day, our fans, we understand and we want to validate that."

The Colts lost to the Houston Texans on Sunday to finish 8-9, completing a historic collapse that followed an 8-2 start powered by offensive fireworks unprecedented in franchise history. But after a string of crippling injuries that included quarterback Daniel Jones' season-ending ruptured Achilles, Indianapolis went on to become the first team in NFL history to finish with a losing record after reaching six games over .500.

Irsay-Gordon stopped short of issuing an ultimatum, but she strongly suggested significant improvement will be expected.

"We have been very clear with [Ballard] and [Steichen], but giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher," she said.

Ballard, who just completed his ninth season as GM, is entering the final year of his contract. Asked if there would be extension talks, Irsay-Gordon said the topic hasn't been discussed. It would mark the first time Ballard has faced a contract year since joining the Colts in 2017.

Irsay-Gordon emphasized the decision to retain the leadership was based largely on what the team displayed in the first half of the season, when Jones was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league and the Colts led the NFL in yards per game, yards per play and scoring.

Asked to clarify how much she weighed the longer, overall track records of the men -- Ballard, for example, has a 70-78-1 record -- Irsay-Gordon said it was a comprehensive evaluation.

She also indicated she was onboard with some of the more aggressive team-building tactics Ballard has employed of late, like his deeper involvement in free agency last spring and the move to acquire star cornerback Sauce Gardner in a blockbuster deal at the trade deadline.

"I would say it all plays into the decision," Irsay-Gordon said. "I don't think it's an either-or. But I think what we saw as far as the progress of [Ballard] being able to adapt and change the way he works on the roster and assembles the roster. And we believe that he is capable of replicating that next season."

The Colts' thought process seemed to be that blowing things up now would be counterproductive given the early-season progress the club showed. Huge organizational changes might mean Jones and star wide receiver Alec Pierce look elsewhere in free agency (their contracts expire in March), as a new executive could look to initiate a rebuild.

Irsay-Gordon doesn't seem interested in going that route just yet because of a belief the team isn't far away from turning a corner. Next season, with better health, is perhaps a chance to see if their vision can be realized.

"We had a lot of close games this season, and some of that came down to just being able to finish," she said.

Jones, it seems, remains a big piece of those hopes. The former New York Giants starter, who was released last year, found instant success in Indianapolis and played the best football of his career. The Colts do not seem prepared to give up on the potential he showed, given their long history of failures at quarterback since the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck in 2019.