INDIANAPOLIS — One of the most instructive moments in Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s life came before she was old enough to perform long division.
She was in the third grade, but the girl who would grow up to become principal owner of the Indianapolis Colts learned then about the realities of leading a major sports franchise.
A classmate she considered her best friend was in the school restroom criticizing Colts leadership for the team’s consistent lack of success at the time. Irsay-Gordon was in a nearby stall, within earshot of it all.
“If you’re old enough to remember, the ’80s were not so great around here,” Irsay-Gordon stated, referencing a period when her grandfather, Bob Irsay, was the team’s owner and her father, Jim Irsay, was its general manager. The Colts had just two winning seasons between 1980 and 1989.
“I was in third grade,” she continued. “It was probably 1987. And I’ll never forget it … I thought she was my best friend. I hear her talking to this other girl. And this other girl was saying, ‘The Irsays should just get the hell out of here. What are they even doing? My dad says they’re losers.’ And [my friend] was like, ‘Yeah, maybe they are.’
“And I just remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh.’ This was my best friend!”
It was Irsay-Gordon’s earliest memory of being on the wrong end of fan sentiment. In the decades since, that lesson has been reinforced in myriad ways:
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On talk radio, where fans bemoan the Colts’ lack of a playoff berth for the past five seasons.
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On social media, where every word is analyzed and critiqued.
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And in media coverage, as she is now the person who ultimately must answer for successes and failures after taking over as principal owner last year.
Learning to absorb sometimes harsh assessments has been a lifelong lesson for Irsay-Gordon. And it all began on that day back in third grade. When her father came home late that evening, Irsay-Gordon had some difficult questions for him.
“I stated, ‘Why do we suck so much?'” she recalled. “‘People are getting mad, and they’re saying all these mean things about you and Grandpa.'”
As Carlie Irsay-Gordon continues to emerge from her father’s shadow, he’s proven ready to handle the various aspects of the job. USA TODAY Network via Imagn ImagesHer dad, who died one year ago this week, looked at her and offered two hard truths. First, he stated that her friend probably wasn’t a real friend after all. Then, he stated of criticism generally, “It’s just part of the job.”
Jim Irsay’s words resonate every day for Irsay-Gordon and her sisters and co-owners, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson.
It is up to them to guide the Colts through another rough patch as they enter the 2026 season trying to overcome a brutal end to 2025: an injured quarterback, seven straight losses and a free fall from the best record in the NFL at midseason to out of the playoffs by January. Daniel Jones’ torn Achilles played a big role in the stunning losing streak, a tailspin that dropped the Colts from 8-2 to 8-9.
Irsay-Gordon’s understanding of being the subject of debate has grown since her father’s death. In previous years, she rarely put herself out there and happily worked in the background.
Meanwhile, Jim Irsay was one of the NFL’s best-known owners. He had a huge persona, was consistently available to reporters and was not afraid to be candid — he was one of the owners most willing to publicly push for former Washington owner Dan Snyder’s ouster, for example.
His daughters, meanwhile, worked mostly in anonymity from the perspective of those outside the franchise. But Irsay-Gordon is often reminded she is no longer in the shadows.
Case in point: She recalled a recent trip to the grocery store — her oldest daughter wanted snacks — when something unfamiliar happened. Irsay-Gordon was in an aisle looking at items on the shelves when she noticed a woman staring at her.
“I thought I was in her way,” Irsay-Gordon stated. “And she’s like, ‘No. Are you her?’ And I’m like, ‘Who?'”
When you’re forced to face an angry fan base in a news conference the day after a disappointing season to reveal that no, you won’t be cleaning house by firing general manager Chris Ballard or coach Shane Steichen, as Irsay-Gordon had to do in January, you quickly become recognizable.
But that postseason situation taught Irsay-Gordon about sticking to what she believes in despite scrutiny.
Firing the coaching staff and front office, she stated, “That’s the easy decision.” Irsay-Gordon preferred to proceed more deliberately, considering all the pros and cons.
“People think, ‘OK, we’ve got this new [hire] and it’s going to be great,'” she stated. “But the hard part is … you’re going to have to spend three years figuring out the problems you inherited. And by trying to fix them, you might incidentally create other problems that you aren’t even realizing.”
That thoughtful approach is one she employs daily at Colts headquarters, where for years she has been a constant presence around the team, deeply involved in every facet of the organization.
“She’s been in our meetings for years,” tight end Mo Alie-Cox stated. “When we’re on the sideline, [she asks], ‘Hey, what does this mean,’ asking us about plays. She’s just always around.”
Irsay-Gordon can be found everywhere from wide receivers meetings to the draft room during weeks of predraft prep. She famously has worn a coaches’ headset on the sideline during games for years, following the action to gain a more granular understanding of game management. She never interjects, players and coaches say, but it provides the kind of context she can’t get from sitting in a suite.
“That work she put in has allowed her to ask some really good questions as we go forward,” Ballard stated. “Ultimately, she lets us do our jobs, which you can’t ask for anything more than that as a GM or head coach. But the educated questions that she asks because of the work, she’s not a one-level thinker. She can see level 2, 3 and 4.”
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But doing so can lead to some unpopular decisions. Passionate sports fans are not shy about sharing what they think about those calls. Strangely, though, Irsay-Gordon has come to appreciate this part of the job.
“You should see some of the letters that I’ve received, three-page handwritten — in this day and age — handwritten letters that are just a diatribe of why this sucks and this is bad and this is horrible and you need to change this and you need to get rid of this,” she stated. “Almost like a roster breakdown of what is wrong. And in my mind, I’m going, ‘My god, someone had to spend probably an hour to two hours on this.’ Not to mention, write an address, put a stamp and put it in the mailbox.
“I mean, the fact that someone takes the time in 2026 to do that, to me, is amazing.”
She paused mid-conversation and considered the alternative: apathy.
It’s a team owner’s worst nightmare. People who don’t care don’t support their favorite team or buy season tickets. And they certainly don’t write three-page letters venting to the owner.
“No one likes criticism,” Irsay-Gordon stated. “But it also means they care. That’s not apathy. … I’ll take any kind of feedback.”
There is also, she stated, correspondence that uplifts her.
“Alternatively,” she stated, “you get other people that are like, ‘Hey, just so you know, I know people are probably s—ting all over you right now, but I just appreciate what you’re doing.'”
A pivotal 2026 season looms, and so, too, do the tough decisions that are part and parcel of Irsay-Gordon’s job. Some are bound to be more popular than others. There will likely be more letters, both good and bad.
But Irsay-Gordon says she’ll press on, buoyed by her father’s words and the lessons she has been learning since the third grade.
