Former Colts Frank Reich and Andrew Luck Comment On the Death of Jim Irsay

Irsay was the true embodiement of being a Colt for life. After his dad, Robert, bought the team in the early 1970s, Irsay spent time around the team as a kid, eventually getting hired as vice president and general manager in 1984. At age 24, he was the youngest person ever to hold the title of NFL general manager.

But after his father had a stroke in 1995, eventually dying in 1997, Irsay took over as the team's owner at the age of 37 and ran the team until his death.

During his tenure as the owner, Irsay oversaw over 10 division titles, around 20 playoff appearances, two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLI. The franchise also won 115 regular season games from 2000-2009, which was the second-most wins in a decade by any NFL team.

Since he started with the organization in 1984, numerous Hall of Fame coaches and players have gone on to be a part of the Colts including Peyton Manning, Tony Dungy, Eric Dickerson, Marvin Harrison and Marshall Faulk.

While recent seasons have been more of a struggle, with Irsay even receiving some backlash in 2022 when he fired Reich and replaced him with interim coach, Jeff Saturday, who had no coaching experience beyond high school, Irsay's overall reputation was favorable among league personnel, with him being considered one of the best owners in the league.

As for Luck and Reich, their time with the Colts and working for Irsay was pretty successful. Drafted first overall in 2012 to replace Manning, Luck led the Colts to three straight playoff trips in his first three seasons, with an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2014.

Reich was hired to replace Chuck Pagano prior to the 2018 season, and led the Colts to the playoffs in both 2018 and 2020, losing in the AFC Divisional round in 2018 and the AFC Wild Card round in 2020.

Irsay's death will be felt all throughout the league this coming season and beyond, but with a life well lived and a legacy that will never be forgotten, the Colts will look to continue what Irsay helped build, and bring even more football success to the city of Indianapolis.