Late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay was a hands-on decision-maker from the highest seat in the team’s operation after learning under his father.
Now one of Irsay’s children might follow a similar path to lead the Colts following her father’s death.
Irsay died at 65 on Wednesday and is survived by three children. His eldest daughter, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, listed by the team as vice chair and co-owner, reportedly will take on an expanded role with the franchise, according to multiple reports.
Irsay was the son of Robert Irsay, who grew his fortune as a heating and air conditioning contractor. He bought the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million in 1972, then swapped them the Baltimore Colts, moving them to Indianapolis in 1984.
Two years out of college, Jim Irsay became the team’s general manager. He held the position until taking over as owner, chairman and CEO of the Colts in 1997 when his father died.
Irsay-Gordon, 44, served as an intern for the Colts and is a member of multiple league committees. She has attended owners meetings and tended to official league business at her father’s side — and independently on behalf of ownership — since 2004.
She and her siblings — Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson — were named as vice chair/co-owners of the Colts in 2012. Irsay-Gordon has been heavily involved in the business side of the team since then and in the past several years continued to take on more responsibility in other areas of the organization.
Former Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was in place when the Colts released Peyton Manning and drafted Andrew Luck No. 1 overall, publicly praised Irsay-Gordon’s football instincts and knowledge. She filled in when Jim Irsay was suspended for six games by the NFL in 2014. The suspension came after he entered a guilty plea to DUI charges.
