It had long been speculated that one or both of Colts head coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson would be fired after the 2016 season, and although it took a little longer than expected, Grigson was relieved of his duties yesterday. Pagano, meanwhile, will reportedly keep his job for the 2017 season (though there are rumors that he, too, could be dismissed if he fails to deliver a championship to Indianapolis next year).
As Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star reports in a series of Twitter links, there was a significant rift between Pagano and Grigson by the time the 2015 season rolled around, and nothing improved in 2016. Holder says that, this past season, Pagano went into his “bunker” and Grigson went into his, and the dysfunction was such that it was surprising that anything got done.
Holder adds (via Twitter) that owner Jim Irsay went to great lengths over the past several weeks to sort out the issues with his club, and he apparently concluded that the best thing for the Colts was to “untie” Grigson and Pagano, who both joined the team in 2012. Holder observes in a full-length piece that Irsay did not mention any of Grigson’s personnel-related shortcomings when he outlined his reasons for making a change. Instead, he said, “I don’t think you guys understand and give Ryan enough credit for what he’s done here. I really don’t.”
Those statements led Holder to believe that it was the flaws in the Grigson-Pagano relationship that ultimately triggered Grigson’s dismissal, and a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter lends a great deal of support to that theory. As Schefter writes, the Colts brought in psychologists to help repair the relationship, and the primary focus was on ways Pagano and Grigson could improve their communication. Schefter added, “one person compared the meetings to a couple going to marriage counseling, hoping they could work out their issues with the help of a third party.”
Obviously, that innovative step did not work, as the differences between Grigson and Pagano proved to be irreconcilable.
We learned earlier today that interim GM Jimmy Raye III is currently viewed as the favorite to replace Grigson on a permanent basis.
It looks like they are holding hands in the picture
I was just about to say that but you beat me to it haha
This is a picture of them walking together to their appointment with the marriage counselor Irsay hired for them lol
This is what happens when you hire two men who are incompetent in the professions they’re in and have them work together. The men in question start blaming each other for their own incompetence