Las Vegas Raiders fans still talk about Al Davis, the owner who never stopped being a football man. His 2008 split with young coach Lane Kiffin turned into a public feud, complete with a press conference where Davis aired his grievances. It remains the NFL’s go-to example of an owner who got too close to the football decisions. So when Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s sideline routine went viral, the comparison was inevitable.
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During a recent appearance on the Unpaved, hosted by Sean Salisbury, Jim McMahon, who spent 15 years of his career playing in the NFL, revealed how stunned he was by Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s involvement and appearance on the sidelines during the Colts games.
“I think that’s nuts. [She comes up to you on the sidelines of the game. What do you say to her?] Get out of my face. She’s got nothing to do with the game or anything else,” McMahon said. “There’s a time and a place for an owner, I think, if she needs to talk to a player, call them up to the office.
“I don’t mind the owners down there pre-game or after the game. But during a game, trying to be involved in the game itself, I think is ridiculous. But like you said, if she’s the owner, she thinks she can do whatever she wants. So let her do it. I wouldn’t pay much attention to her if that was my owner.”
Following the passing of her father, longtime owner Jim Irsay, in 2025, Carlie Irsay-Gordon took over lead franchise control and has maintained an unprecedented game-day routine.
However, off late, Irsay-Gordon garnered quite some attention through her antics. Currently, she is the only NFL owner known to patrol the sidelines while actively listening to the coaching staff’s communications through a headset, carrying a laminated play-call sheet, and taking notes.
While her presence parallels a coach’s role, team sources and Irsay-Gordon herself have clarified the exact boundaries of her involvement.
“I like to say on a good day I have like a fifth-grade reading level understanding of the game and just the basic concepts of what we’re trying to do, depending on the week and depending on our opponent and depending on the situation,” Irsay-Gordon told Bridget Condon of Front Office Sports a month ago.
“But I think, then, it just helps to understand and to ask questions because I think one of the things, in my opinion, like being a good leader is about listening, really to understand. And I think that’s what the best teams do.”
Although Carlie Irsay-Gordon revealed the reason behind her sideline appearances, her unconventional approach has divided the NFL world. Apart from Jim McMahon, veteran sportscaster Stephen A. Smith also raised a similar concern around the Colts owner’s involvement.
“You can’t defend what the hell this organization has been. You can’t defend this owner,” Smith said on ESPN’s First Take a few days back. “I didn’t mind her parading up and down the sidelines. That’s what she does. My whole point is, ‘what the hell you doing that for if you ain’t gonna do nothing about the product you’re seeing?’
“What you on the sideline for? You just sightseeing? Do something. Get rid of somebody. Make a change. Send a message that you’re moving in a different direction because they’ve been underachieving.”
The Indianapolis Colts have failed to even make it to the postseason playoff games in the last five seasons. Hence, Stephen A. Smith questioned whether Carlie Irsay-Gordon is making necessary changes after spending time understanding the dynamics on the sidelines.
But as it seems, she did make a few changes. The Colts are at a 2-6 record through eight games of the 2026 season. Amid that, the second-year principal owner moved with immense urgency, deciding that the franchise would no longer accept mediocrity.
On October 19, 2026, following a loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans, Irsay-Gordon fired General Manager Chris Ballard, ending his nearly decade-long tenure. Then, just days after dismissing Ballard, Irsay-Gordon authorized interim executive Ed Dodds to act as a seller ahead of the November 10 trade deadline, effectively launching a complete roster overhaul.
With just a few days left for the trade deadline, it will be interesting to see what more changes Irsay-Gordon deems fit to elevate the Colts.