Opinion: What is Jim Irsay thinking?

In 2011, the Colts missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001. What followed was a total rebuild: owner Jim Irsay fired Bill Polian, Tony Dungy’s replacement (Jim Caldwell), and quarterback Peyton Manning was fired too.

One season of missing the playoffs by an easily-explainable reason (Manning was ruled out in 2011 due to a freak neck injury) seems like such a strong penalty. Caldwell was a solid coach, Polian is a Hall of Fame general manager, and Manning, while on the wrong side of 30, still had an arm: he threw for 55 touchdowns and 5,477 passing yards two years later and led Denver to two Super Bowls, including one victory.

Nevertheless, Irsay gave Manning, Caldwell and Company a short leash. What does not make sense at all is the amount of grace he has given to general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen, especially in light of those drastic changes in 2011 after one bad season.

The Colts have never won the division under Ballard’s tenure, Steichen has missed the playoffs two years in a row, Anthony Richardson takes plays off because he’s “tired,” and the Colts have been stuck in several seasons of mediocrity. Colts nation expected changes following a recent loss to the NFL’s worst Giants with a playoff birth on the line, but were shocked last night when Irsay announced both Ballard and Steichen would return for next season.

It’s really challenging to get inside the mind of the owner of this club, who looked quite frail yesterday, who had to be pulled to the Colts’ locker room while getting trailed by a wheelchair. Irsay held Manning and Polian to a super-high standard (a 12-4 season was considered a cause for concern back then), but over the past decade has evidently lowered that standard at the expense of frustrated fans who are paying higher prices for season tickets (and, not to mention, a taxpayer-funded Lucas Oil Stadium). Why that’s the case is a mystery. For now, Irsay is telling them at least one more year of potential suffering is due. Don’t be shocked if they pack their bags.