Carlie Irsay-Gordon, new owner and chief executive officer of the Colts, suggests wearing a headset during games if you’re shelling out millions to pay coaches and general managers.
If you’ve been to a Colts game, you’ve likely seen Irsay-Gordon on the sidelines wearing a headset while locked in on a call sheet and taking notes — which she’s been doing for years in order to learn as much possible for when it came her time to assume ownership.
Irsay-Gordon and her sisters Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson transitioned to owners after the death of their father, Jim Irsay, in May.
“So much of it comes down to just how we operate and how things work and the headsets – I would suggest it for anyone else that has to pay coaches and GMs millions and millions of dollars,” Irsay-Gordon said on the Colts’ website. “It helps you make a less expensive mistake potentially.”
Irsay-Gordon was on the sidelines Sunday when Colts kicker Spencer Shrader made a 45-yarder to give the Indianapolis a 29-28 win over the Denver Broncos — and their first 2-0 start since 2009.
Ex-Giant Daniel Jones led the game-winning drive in an impressive start to the season.
Her presence was noted on the Fox broadcast, and seemingly took some by surprise.
“I think one of the things that I learned in going through, even as back as when we hired Chuck Pagano (in 2012), is that sort of accelerated my, ‘I need to learn more about this,” Irsay-Gordon said. “I need to be able to say, is this person full of BS? Do they even know what they’re talking about?
“And I think one of the things that being on the headset has really helped me learn is to the question earlier, it’s such a complex organism of football team and how it operates.”
Irsay-Gordon explained that she’s not standing on the sidelines to micromanage the coaching staff — as some have claimed — but instead to understand how she can make adjustments and help get them what they need.
“You could say, ‘Oh, that person ran that route wrong,'” Irsay-Gordon said. “When you learn to find, ‘Oh, someone tagged the wrong wide receiver, and it wasn’t really the player’s fault – it was the person that called it.’ I think that’s been very valuable, because it also helps us be able to know where do we need to make tweaks, what resources do we need, what do we need to fix.
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Colts head coach Shane Steichen explained that Irsay-Gordon has been fully involved with the offense and defense since he was hired in February 2023.
“As far as football, she’s around and she understands it,” Steichen told the team’s website. “When you talk football with her, she gets it. She understands it. She goes over the defensive stuff, the offensive stuff. She’s been involved since I’ve been here from day one, very hands on and she’s been tremendous. I think she’s going to do a phenomenal job.”
The Colts (2-0) play the Titans (0-2) in Tennessee on Sunday.