NFL Executives Reveal Jim Irsay’s Daughter Carlie’s True Colors With Colts Ownership in Limbo

At 13, Jim Irsay was hauling jockstraps through the Colts’ locker room, working phones in the ticket office, and learning from the bottom rung what it meant to be part of an NFL franchise. That inheritance, unlike the one waiting in his father Bob’s will, didn’t come to him with privilege. It was sweat equity, and over time, it shaped the identity of an owner who often operated more like a front-office savant than a trust fund steward. He passed away on Wednesday, May 21, at 65.

Now, his daughters know that the best tribute to their late father can only be in the form of getting the Colts on the perch. “Let’s find a way back to our greatness,” Jim told his players in the locker room after the 2024 regular-season finale. “That’s what my goal is.”

Jim’s three daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, and Kalen Jackson, were groomed for this moment with the same boots-on-the-ground philosophy he once embodied. Long before titles like “Vice Chair/Owner” landed on their nameplates, they went through their father’s route. From standing in ticket offices, shadowing scouts, and helping rewire the business infrastructure. “You don’t have to do this,” Jim once told them. They did anyway. Because while the Colts were their inheritance, they also became their responsibility.

And then came the whispers from inside league circles. “People can underestimate her if they want, but she is tough, sharp, intelligent, works extremely hard, knows football and is innovative,” one high-ranking NFL executive told ESPN, pointing directly at Carlie Irsay-Gordon. Another, even more blunt: “Carlie, specifically, will be the perfect modern-day owner… She has been embedded in the business for over a decade. She’s not a placeholder — she’s the future.”

Carlie’s headset isn’t for show. She served as acting owner during Jim Irsay’s 2014 suspension, gaining full decision-making power, and, per sources, never flinching under the weight. Since then, she’s helped overhaul the Colts’ organizational structure. From marketing to football ops, and now serves on influential league committees.

But succession never arrives without strife. Behind closed doors, there are inevitable questions: How unified will the sisters be on major decisions? What role will longtime Irsay lieutenants Pete Ward and Dan Emerson continue to play? And perhaps most pressing — how will estate taxes and ownership percentages shake out behind the scenes? Those are complications for the lawyers.

What’s clear is that Carlie Irsay-Gordon already has the trust of NFL leadership. In a league where people confuse lineage and competence, she’s rewritten the narrative with deliberate action. As one league executive said with a shrug that felt more like a warning: “She will be a great steward of the organization. You can doubt her — just don’t bet against her.”

So, does that mean Shane Steichen’s on a hot seat?

Shane Steichen’s chair in Indy was pretty warm already. And now, after Carlie Irsay-Ballard’s takeover in the Colts’ front office, maybe it’s heating up faster than a Lucas Oil Stadium turf burn. She’s got the name, the legacy, and a franchise to stabilize. So, maybe, just maybe, she sends a message early. Could that mean handing Steichen a ‘make-it-or-break-it’ script for 2025? You would think it’s a new era. You would hope the leash gets longer. But it might be the opposite.

Steichen’s gone a dead-even 17–17 over two years. So far, no playoff ticket in sight for the Colts. That’s two full seasons, zero January football. Look, nobody’s pinning it all on the tall guy, but fans aren’t exactly lining up to hand him a pass either. Especially when that QB situation is still murkier than a Belichick press conference.

Anthony Richardson, once hailed as Indy’s big bet, has barely played half the games he could’ve. Between injuries and a midseason benching in 2024 that made zero sense, it’s been chaos. The front office gave no clear explanation. And Steichen’s already taken part in the fall for that mess. So, what do they do? Not guarantee AR’s case under center, but throw him in a QB battle with Daniel Jones.

CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr didn’t hold back either. He flat-out named Steichen one of the top five coaches on the hot seat going into 2025. “The franchise just seems to have no sense of direction,” Kerr said. And he’s not wrong. Steichen was supposed to be the quarterback whisperer—the guy who helped shape Jalen Hurts. But in Indy? The whispers have turned into frustrated groans from a fanbase desperate for clarity, for wins, for something that feels like a plan.

So now, it’s simple. Win early. Win often. Or start packing. This season is Steichen’s two-minute drill. No room for locker room drama. No more PR fumbles. If the offense doesn’t show up and the team crumbles again in December? There’s a real shot that Carlie makes her first big move. Colts fans know the drill by now: miss the playoffs again, and heads roll.