Colts make 3 big moves in 3 days. Is Jim Irsay calling the shots? Is Frank Reich next? | Opinion
INDIANAPOLIS – Frank Reich is speaking so softly, it’s like he’s almost not there. Call that foreshadowing if you want.
This has been a frenzied 72 hours for the Indianapolis Colts, a franchise that doesn’t do frenzy. They hire a coach, and keep him past his expiration date. Same with coordinators, usually. Same with quarterbacks, when at all possible. Same with home-grown talent under contract for years to come.
Reich, head coach of the Colts as of this writing, is wearing it on his face Wednesday as he enters the interview room at the Colts complex on 56th Street, his first appearance with reporters since somebody fired his offensive coordinator on Tuesday and then, hours later, someone traded away his punt returner and third-down running back, Nyheim Hines. This isn’t Reich’s first appearance since benching 15-year veteran quarterback Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger, however. That was seven days ago.
Feels like seven months, doesn’t it? Or seven years. Dog days, you call this part of an NFL season. Or dog years. It’s ruff out here, er, rough out here – sorry – for the Colts, the preseason favorite to win the AFC South, and now the most likely franchise to fire its coach between now and season’s end.
That would be Frank Reich.
This is not me, calling for Frank’s firing. But this is absolutely me, wondering if – when – it will happen. This could go one of two ways, as most things can:
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One, the Colts could respond well to the new quarterback (Ehlinger), offensive coordinator (nobody, actually), and third-down back (Deon Jackson or Jordan Wilkins, if it matters, which it doesn’t). They could go into Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday and beat Bill Belichick and his loathsome New England Patriots. Wouldn’t that be something? No cheering in the press box, all that, but if the Colts win – if the Patriots lose – you can’t stop me from having a cold one Sunday night.
But this could go another way.
The Colts could do what they always do against the Patriots, and what they have almost always done this season against everyone: Struggle to score. Start slowly. Finish on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Slide farther down the AFC South standings from Tennessee, which is about to run away with this thing.
If that happens, no, I won’t be having a cold one on Sunday night. Got to keep my faculties, in case I have to write because something crazy happens – sorry, unless something else crazy happens – when the Colts return home that night.
Maybe that’s why Frank Reich looks so miserable up there, in front of the cameras, behind the microphone.
Maybe he knows that things have already spun out of his control. Kickoff in Foxborough is in a few days. Then some football, then the flight home.
Then what?
Jim Irsay speaks on Sam Ehlinger, Marcus Brady. Sort of.
You’re getting the full context of my Jim Irsay interview, and by that I mean, a transcription – word for word – of my one (short) question and his one (long) answer. You’re getting that because context matters. And because I don’t know what else to do with it.
My question, delivered via text message:
Hi Jim. I don’t do this much, so you know this is a big deal. To me, anyway. Were you behind the last two major moves, at quarterback and offensive coordinator? This feels like you’ve decided to take more initiative.
Took a few hours, but Irsay got back to me via voice message, delivered as a text. That’s a function I need to be using! After typing stories and tweets and etc., I get tired of typing text messages. Plus it’s horrible to type on a phone. So this funct…
Sorry. You’re waiting for Irsay’s answer. To put yourself fully into the conversation, imagine the sound of a running faucet in the background. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Irsay is calling me as he shaves.
“No, I’ve not taken any more initiative than I’ve always taken. You know I made the final call on Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf. I said from the beginning Andrew Luck was the guy, not RGIII, and that was a clear difference between the two. When it was time to pick a coach, I called Tony Dungy as soon as he was available, and then called Bill Polian.
“I’ve never run things any different than I’ve always run them. I let my coach and general manager do their job and don’t intervene. I have discussions. I’m actively involved in parts of the game. Chris (Ballard) was reluctant to give up that extra pick for Jonathan Taylor. I said, ‘Give it up, come on, you’ve been talking about the guy for four months.’
“I let my people do their job. Sometimes I let them make mistakes. They have to. That’s how they learn, and sometimes they’re doing things I know that’s not right. I don’t want to intervene.
“Really, no, I’ve always had the same initiative my whole career. Hell, 1976 I was 16 when my dad fired the coach in Detroit in the preseason. I got on the bus and talked to the team. The horseshoe’s in the blood. Always been a protector of the horseshoe for half a century, and always will be as long as I’m breathing. But I let my people do their jobs. I don’t interfere with them. It’s huge macro-decisions when it comes to quarterbacks and head coaches, those sorts of things, but I let things play out.
“I have my concerns, I voice them, but I often don’t stop things. Rarely do I. There’s always an occasion, but no, my style hasn’t changed one bit. I’m not more involved now than ever. I’ve always been extremely involved and that’s always been the way it’s been.”
My summary of that: Irsay lets his GM and coach do their jobs, except when he was choosing the last two quarterbacks. He’s always been extremely involved, but he doesn’t interfere. Rarely.
My summary of the past several days:
Irsay replaced Ryan with Ehlinger, for reasons we all understand. Reich fired Brady, for reasons we don’t. Ballard traded Hines, because Hines didn’t want to be here.
Doyel on QB change: Sam Ehlinger is in, Matt Ryan is out, everyone failed
Doyel on OC change: Offensive coordinator Marcus Brady, gone? Colts fired the wrong man
Three huge decisions, made by three different people. That’s what I think. What do I know? Barely a thing, especially after re-reading that Irsay answer. The guy’s smarter than most of us, more interesting than any of us, and open for interpretation. His words are a Picasso painting. See what you want, then go back a few minutes later. See anything different?
The Indianapolis Colts' divided locker room
The Colts’ locker room was divided Wednesday. True statement. Go back and look at Irsay’s comments; you really can do anything you want with words, can’t we?
I’m calling the locker room divided, because it was, though probably not how you’re thinking. Just wrote it that way to get your attention. Plus it’s true: The locker room is divided in two ways – one a constant, and one a new thing this week.
The locker room’s constant division: The design.
Offense on the left of the room, defense on the right. First locker, left of the door, is No. 29: new running back Jordan Wilkins. Next to him is No. 21, Nyheim Hin—no, sorry, that’s not his locker anymore. It now belongs to the running back the Colts acquired in the Hines deal with Buffalo, Zack Moss. He’s wearing Hines’ old number, 21. Things move fast in the NFL.
The locker room’s new division, this week. The ambiance.
The defense is having a great time Wednesday. Linebacker Shaquille Leonard is talking loud, linebacker E.J. Speed is laughing louder, and defensive tackle Curtis Brooks is at the pop-a-shot, taking the contraption to school by posting it up, shimmy-shaking left and right, and fading away for a 12-footer. Cornerback Tony Brown is off in the distance, all that excellent hair balled up into a brown towel, walking from locker to locker like a robot.
Why is the defense so happy? Because the defense is playing great. Nobody’s getting benched or fired or traded away on that side of the ball.
Now, the offense.
First, they’re not here when reporters enter the room. Well, Wilkins and a tight end or two, but that’s it. Slowly the offensive linemen trickle in, some eating, some dressing for practice, none talking. The receivers are normally here by now – just try to get Michael Pittman Jr. to pipe down – but not today.
One side of the room is having a party. The other side is preparing for the other shoe to drop.
What does that shoe look like? Like Frank Reich, if things go badly this weekend in New England. Again, this is not my wish, or suggestion. You new in town? If I wanted Reich fired, I’d fire him right here and now. Nobody would listen, but when has that stopped me? I tried to fire Brian Kelly five different times at Notre Dame, and all that got him was a $95 million contract at LSU, the talented jerk.
But you have to wonder what’s next for the Colts, don’t you? Three major moves to the offense in 72 hours: A new starting quarterback Sunday, then Tuesday’s dismissal of the offensive coordinator and trade of the running back.
What happened Wednesday? Reich is sitting there in front of the cameras, looking glum, sounding hoarse, giving off a vibe of misery. He’s so quiet, so still, it’s like he’s not even there.
Almost.
Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar or at www.facebook.com/greggdoyelstar.