The Colts’ longtime team owner was surprisingly optimistic following another missing postseason berth and what’s shaped up to be essentially a ‘lost decade’ of Indy football.
Per the Athletic’s James Boyd, Indianapolis Colts team owner Jim Irsay addressed the locker room this past Sunday with surprising optimism, following the team’s recent overtime home win against the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-13) in the 2024 regular season finale:
Jim Irsay, speaking in the locker room at the end of the season:
“Obviously, we’re disappointed. But we are 1-0 in 2025. And we have a lot of work to do. But we’re still proud of the effort you guys put forward.
“Let’s find a way back to our greatness …”
#Colts pic.twitter.com/XJV12orYmR
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) January 8, 2025
Finishing with a losing record at 8-9 and anticlimactically ‘short of the sticks’ for a playoff berth, it was another disappointing season for the Colts—who haven’t made the postseason since 2020 and whose last time they won the AFC South was way back in 2014 (with the longest drought of any division team to do so, with each other member doing so at least twice during that same span).
Not to mention, it was a season littered with national in-season drama, and a crushing Week 17 road loss that saw the team—and particularly the defense, show a lack of hustle, heart, and fundamentals in what was one of the most embarrassing franchise losses in recent memory to the bottom-feeding New York Giants during a must-win game.
Now, Irsay shouldn’t be expected to berate the team by any means. That being said, the optimism highlights in his post-game address include noting that the team “was a few plays away” from the playoffs, as well as 1-0 (and undefeated!) in the New Year.
Nothing he said was exactly wrong, although I’d argue that the team has been ‘a few plays away’ for almost 5 years now, and the difference is that good teams routinely make those plays, especially late in games and down the season’s stretch run to earn a playoff nod.
I may have preferred something more along the lines of “It was a disappointing season. We obviously have a lot of work to do, but we believe in a lot of the guys in this room,” or something to that effect—featuring a touch of optimism, but acknowledging the more urgent reality of the challenge ahead.
Alas, it’s not my franchise! What are your thoughts of Irsay’s post-game remarks, Colts fans?