Tag: Jim Irsay

Jim Irsay: ‘There is merit to removing’ Dan Snyder as owner

Colts owner Jim Irsay sees merit in removing Dan Snyder as Commanders owner.

Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay spoke up Tuesday in regard to the potential removal of Dan Snyder as the owner of the Washington Commanders.

As the league owners converged this week for the fall meetings in New York, the biggest topic of discussion has undoubtedly been the future of Snyder as the owner of the Commanders.

Irsay said he believes there is merit to removing him from his role, and that it’s ultimately the road the league needs to go down.

Snyder came under fire in 2021 when the NFL fined Washington $10 million “for fostering a workplace culture where sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation were commonplace throughout most of Daniel Snyder’s ownership,” according to The Washington Post.

In light of the recent ESPN report that Snyder had enough “dirt” on the rest of the league’s owners to keep him from being voted out, Irsay didn’t seem to be concerned about that aspect of the situation.

No owner has ever been voted before, and it would take 24 votes from the league owners to do so.

This process is likely going to go on for a long time, but Irsay isn’t being shy about his thoughts on Snyder continuing to be an owner in the NFL.

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Jim Irsay asks Colts fans for help with beating Titans

In a series of SEVEN tweets, Colts owner Jim Irsay asked fans for help with beating the Titans on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was very vocal this offseason about his team’s inability to beat the Tennessee Titans in recent years after the Titans have won the last three meetings between the two, and four out of the last five.

“They kick our a** and they have been kicking our a**,’’ Irsay said back in March. “We’ve got to get past that. I don’t hide from the facts that are out there competitively. I want to put them right in front of us… you have to know where your nemeses lie.

“It’s just completely unacceptable the way they’ve dominated the division over us. It just is. And I give (coach Mike) Vrabel a ton of credit. He’s done a great job. He’s a tough guy. We have to prove we can beat them and beat them when it most matters and consistently beat them.’’

Ahead of their first meeting of the season, Irsay is now asking Colts fans for help in beating the Titans in a series of tweets he has fired off on Thursday.

Seven tweets? Now that’s dedication.

The Titans will not only look to extend their winning streak against the Colts but also their road winning streak against AFC South opponents, which currently sits at eight games.

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Commanders quarterback Carson Wentz has turned the page

Carson Wentz has turned the page and is ready to move forward.

“From everybody hopping on the Wentz wagon not too long ago, to his third team now, in three years.”

That was how ESPN’s Hannah Storm introduced a feature on Carson Wentz Friday with Sal Paolantonio. Storm concluded her introduction by referring to Wentz’s career as “peripatetic.”

Paolantonio: What happened in Jacksonville? Is that something where you just discard it, bury it, make it go away?

Wentz: We just didn’t get it done. I feel like personally, I put it all out there. As a team, we put it all out there last year, but timing wasn’t ideal for that loss, that performance. But you learn from it and say, ‘I’m still confident in who I am. That’s not going to define me. That’s not going to define the season, define anything.’ We had a good season, a good team, had a lot of fun. Just didn’t get it done when it mattered.”

Paolantonio reminded viewers that Colts owner Jim Irsay called the trade for Wentz “a mistake,” saying of Wentz, “Your guy’s gotta pick you up and carry you through Jacksonville. He has to do it; not an option. Has to, no excuses, no explanations.”

Wentz: I’m not going to get into a word battle. I’m not going to let any of that stress me out. Turn the page. I felt like I gave everything I had to be the best I could be in Indy. For me, it’s ‘try not to dwell on it. How can I get better tomorrow?’ How can I be better as a person, as a teammate, as a friend, as a husband, a father? Learn from things that happened, good and bad in my past.”

Wentz expressed that when he first walked into the Ashburn building, head coach Ron Rivera said, “Just know you are wanted here.” Wentz conveyed, “In this business, we all have to have our own sense of self-confidence and self-esteem. But it is nice to hear.”

The new Washington quarterback spoke of having respected Rivera from afar and now sees his Commanders teammates respect who Rivera is and how he carries himself.

The former Eagle and Colt said when he first was with the team in the locker room it struck him that he is now one of the old guys on the team. He also admitted, “it’s been a whirlwind the last couple of years. There’s no lying about that.”

No. 11 however then added but in the last 2 1/2 years, their two daughters have been born, providing him perspective. “I am husband and dad, and THEN I play football. When I come home my (oldest) daughter runs to give me a hug; whether I threw five touchdowns or five picks, it doesn’t matter.”

Be careful Commanders fans; Carson was not saying it doesn’t matter if the throws five touchdowns or five interceptions. He was saying he sees it doesn’t matter to his daughter(s) and wife. And that gives him a better perspective on who he first is in this life.

Jim Irsay on expectations for Colts in 2022: ‘It’s about Tennessee’

Colts owner Jim Irsay is hellbent on dethroning the Titans in the AFC South in 2022.

The Tennessee Titans are coming off two straight division titles, something the franchise hadn’t done since its days in the AFL as the Houston Oilers.

And Tennessee’s success in the AFC South the past few years has come at the expense of their rival, the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans beat the Colts twice last season, and Tennessee has won three of its last four meetings with Indianapolis over the last two years.

Adding insult to injury, not only did the Colts fail to win the division in 2021, they also missed the playoffs entirely following a late-season collapse that saw them lose their last two games while needing just one to get in.

Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t mince words earlier this offseason when talking about his team’s lack of success against the Titans, saying Tennessee has “dominated the division over us.”

When asked about his expectations for the Colts in 2022, Irsay made it quite clear that dethroning the Titans is at the top of Indy’s list.

“It’s about Tennessee,” Irsay said, per Stephen Holder of ESPN. “It’s about winning the division. It’s about going against those guys who have been very tough and do a great job there getting their players ready to play football in a tough, physical way. So, it’s always tough going against those guys, but we know that’s what we have to do. That’s what we have to overcome if we want to get where we want to get.”

Despite Tennessee’s recent success, both teams are very even going into 2022. The Titans and Colts both have a ton of question marks on the offensive side of the ball, but are set to sport two of the better defenses.

This should be a neck-and-neck race all season and we believe both teams will finish with a 10-7 record, but the Titans will grab their third-straight division title via tiebreaker.

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Jim Irsay can’t get Carson Wentz off his mind

Colts owner Jim Irsay is still thinking about Carson Wentz.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is at it again.

In a session with the media this week, discussing the Colts’ 2022 season, the longtime owner of the Colts took a swipe at his former quarterback without even mentioning his name.

“We went through some inconsistency at quarterback, and that led to massive problems,” Irsay said per Stephen Holder of ESPN.

Irsay just can’t help himself.

The Colts jettisoned Wentz in March, one year after trading a first-round pick and change for the former Eagles quarterback. Wentz posted solid numbers for the Colts last season but was best remembered for his performance during the season’s final two weeks.

Irsay doesn’t discuss that Wentz wasn’t the only one who didn’t play well during the final weeks.

Earlier in the offseason, longtime Colts inside Mike Chappell said the Colts moving on from Wentz was “owner-driven.” Irsay didn’t like Wentz, partly because he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine. However, Wentz wasn’t the only notable Colt not to be vaccinated.

Throughout the season, the Wentz slander has been out of control. It goes beyond his play. His character has been attacked; he’s faced some questions that drew the ire of Commanders team president Jason Wright. Yet, multiple Washington players have spoken of Wentz’s character and leadership, much like some former Philadelphia and Indianapolis teammates had previously done.

Irsay just can’t seem to let Wentz go.

What happens if Matt Ryan can’t put the Colts over the hump in 2022?

Will Irsay go all-in on Ryan’s squeaky clean character if he doesn’t play like Peyton Manning in 2022?

How ironic would it be if Wentz led his new team to the playoffs in 2022, and Irsay’s bunch missed the cut again?

Watching how the Colts’ quarterback swap works out should create some intrigue for the upcoming season.

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What Jim Irsay said in his first appearance of training camp

Here’s what Colts owner Jim Irsay had to say when speaking to the media Wednesday.

Indianapolis Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay made his first appearance since the start of 2022 training camp at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield on Wednesday.

Though Irsay didn’t divulge a whole lot of details, he did meet with the media for a while touching on a handful of topics. Here’s what Irsay had to say Wednesday in his first media appearance:

Muhammad Ali’s title belt from KO of George Foreman sells for $6.18 million

The heavyweight title belt Muhammad Ali won by stopping George Foreman in 1974 sells for $6.18 million.

The name Muhammad Ali can still generate a great deal of money.

The heavyweight title belt he won by knocking out George Foreman in the famous “Rumble in Jungle” in 1974 sold at auction for a reported $6.18 million.

The boxing treasure was purchased by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Irsay tweeted after the fact: “Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ when he employed his rope-a-dope and defeated George Foreman – just added [to] @IrsayCollection. Proud to be the steward!”

Ali, 32 years old when he faced the then-unbeaten Foreman, was an underdog when they stepped into the ring in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire (now The Congo).

However, Ali used his now-historic “rope-a-dope” tactic, wore the muscle-bound Foreman down and stopped him in eight rounds to regain the heavyweight title that was stripped from him when he refused induction into the U.S. Armed Forces in 1967.

It was arguably the Hall of Famer’s greatest victory.

Muhammad Ali’s title belt from KO of George Foreman sells for $6.18 million

The heavyweight title belt Muhammad Ali won by stopping George Foreman in 1974 sells for $6.18 million.

The name Muhammad Ali can still generate a great deal of money.

The heavyweight title belt he won by knocking out George Foreman in the famous “Rumble in Jungle” in 1974 sold at auction for a reported $6.18 million.

The boxing treasure was purchased by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Irsay tweeted after the fact: “Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ when he employed his rope-a-dope and defeated George Foreman – just added [to] @IrsayCollection. Proud to be the steward!”

Ali, 32 years old when he faced the then-unbeaten Foreman, was an underdog when they stepped into the ring in Kinshasa in what was then Zaire (now The Congo).

However, Ali used his now-historic “rope-a-dope” tactic, wore the muscle-bound Foreman down and stopped him in eight rounds to regain the heavyweight title that was stripped from him when he refused induction into the U.S. Armed Forces in 1967.

It was arguably the Hall of Famer’s greatest victory.

Jim Irsay bought Kurt Cobain’s guitar for $4.5 million

Jim Irsay had the winning bid on Kurt Cobain’s famous guitar.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay already has an impressive collection of music memorabilia, and it just got stronger this weekend.

Irsay had the winning bid on a guitar that was previously owned by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. The guitar was featured in the music video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Irsay’s winning bid was for $4.5 million, according to Forbes.

While that’s a whole lot of bills to spend on memorabilia, Irsay expressed his gratitude that the Cobain family donated a portion of the auction proceeds to Kicking the Stigma, an initiative that strives to bring awareness and aid to mental health issues.

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Carson Wentz: Jim Irsay’s comments ‘came out of left field’

Carson Wentz was surprised Jim Irsay said it was ‘very obvious’ the Colts had to move on.

After just one season, the Indianapolis Colts parted ways with quarterback Carson Wentz in March, a move that was nearly inevitable in the eyes of owner Jim Irsay.

After trading Wentz to the Washington Commanders for a handful of draft picks, Irsay told reporters that “it was very obvious” the Colts had to move on from the quarterback they had just traded a first-round pick for during the previous offseason.

Irsay also said moving on from that “mistake” was the better option than sticking with Wentz simply because they made the move to bring him in.

Those comments took Wentz by surprise. He thought they were in a good place despite the epic, late-season collapse to end the 2021 season.

“I thought we did some incredible things, came up short at the end. Obviously, I struggled down the stretch there and timing was poor. But yeah, I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect things to unfold the way they did and I thought things were in a pretty good place there,” Wentz said on the Colin Cowherd Podcast. “I had awesome relationships with every single person in that building. Can’t say enough good things about the people over there. Yeah, it kinda came out of left field, you know? He’s entitled to his own opinion and he’s entitled to do what he wants with his football team.”

The writing was on the wall for Wentz once the season ended. The team still can’t stop talking about the embarrassing 26-11 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, which effectively ended any glimmer of playoff hope. Wentz certainly had a hand in that.

While some will take a big picture view of Wentz’s stats and believe there is an elite quarterback somewhere buried inside, the inconsistency and volatility that came with his play were too much for the Colts to overcome during the final month of the season.

During those final four games, Wentz completed just 58.3% of his passes for 615 yards, five touchdowns, two interceptions and an 86.1 passer rating.

The Colts are heading in a different direction with veteran Matt Ryan now leading the offense. Indy got somewhat lucky to get him considering they moved on from Wentz without a true plan in place for his successor.

This likely isn’t the last time we’ll hear either side talking about Wentz’s short time with the Colts, and it will all build to a rematch at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 8.

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