‘Everybody’s behind her’: Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon sets new standard
Glance toward the Indianapolis Colts sideline during Sunday’s game against the Falcons in Berlin, and Carlie Irsay-Gordon will blend into her surroundings.
She’ll have her headset on, and she’ll be holding a play-call sheet in one hand and a pen in the other. But Irsay-Gordon isn’t an assistant coach for the 7–2 Colts.
She’s the co-owner and CEO.
And her style — uniquely involved and consistently present, even before she and sisters Kalen Jackson and Casey Foyt took over for their late father, Jim Irsay, in May — has helped drive the Colts to their best start since 2009.
“People take it upon themselves to form an opinion because maybe before her, you’d probably never seen an owner on the sideline,” Colts defensive end Tyquan Lewis told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “But she’s always been on the sideline. She’s always been in the meeting rooms. And she always knows what’s going on.
“So, I think that makes a huge difference in our culture in Indianapolis.”
Irsay-Gordon, 45, said this summer she wears the headset to see if the team’s coaches are “full of B.S.” She sits in team meetings and takes notes. She’s learned the Colts’ playbook.
But this isn’t comparable with Christina Pagniacci — Cameron Diaz’s bombastic character from the 1999 film, “Any Given Sunday.” Irsay-Gordon doesn’t talk over headsets; she merely listens, monitors and analyzes each part of the team’s operation. When changes need to be made, she knows where the issues stem from and how to address them.
Irsay-Gordon, who spent the previous 13 seasons as the Colts’ vice chair and owner under her father, has become a master in walking the tightest of ropes between hands-on ownership and micromanaging.
“She doesn’t overstep her boundaries or anything when it comes to coaches trying to coach or anything like that,” Lewis said. “I think the whole concept of it is to let people be people, as far as like the daily and social interactions that go into the building.
“She lets everything continuously work itself out. She always let people be people, let coaches coach, let players play. So, I don’t think she has that issue, as far as walking the line.”
Colts coach Shane Steichen, who’s in his third year working with Irsay-Gordon, said this summer he “thought it was great” the first time he realized she wore a headset on the sideline.
“You’ve got to know what’s going on as an owner,” Steichen said according to ESPN, “and for her to be on the sidelines, I think it’s a great deal so she knows exactly what’s going on on game day.”
Irsay-Gordon’s approach is a modern renaissance, redefining the way Colts players view NFL owners. Before Lewis entered the NFL, he thought owners were hands-off. Colts defensive tackle Grover Stewart, a nine-year veteran who is one of the team’s longest-tenured players, assumed owners were tucked away.
In reality, most are.
“Other owners, I think it’s more so like a hobby instead of their main priority,” Lewis said. “The main priority might be, ‘Hey, we have hedge funds or like a lot of private investments that we’re focused on. This is just something I’m doing.’”
Irsay-Gordon doesn’t fit that description. When newcomers arrive at the Colts’ facility and enter meeting rooms for the first time, they often ask questions about her.
Is she always around? What’s she doing? What’s her position?
Some players grow antsy or nervous, Lewis said. It’s not because of Irsay-Gordon’s persona; rather, it’s the unusual nature of such involvement from an owner.
“That’s something new for them because I guess whenever they go into a different organization, they probably never meet the owner,” Stewart told the AJC. “They probably meet the GM and the head coach and stuff like that, but never sat in a meeting with the owner or having lunch while the owner’s in there.”
Breaking the mold
NFL owners span a broad spectrum.
Jerry Jones has a rare, three-pronged role as the Dallas Cowboys’ owner, president and general manager since 1989, and he rarely meets a microphone he doesn’t like, especially in postgame settings. Other team owners rarely speak publicly and delegate all personnel decisions to the coaching staff and front office.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank is present, involved and well-liked — the Falcons were one of three teams to receive an A+ ownership grade on the 2025 NFL Players Association report card released in February.
Blank often watches the waning minutes of games on the sideline and he attends the Falcons coaching staff’s game recap meeting each week in Flowery Branch. During the offseason, Blank spends time with coaches and personnel members to build relationships outside the facility.
Blank’s game-day routine doesn’t involve a headset or a call sheet. He shares that commonality with 30 other ownership groups.
Irsay-Gordon isn’t a trendsetter — she’s an outlier.
“I mean, some people might be awkward because they haven’t been doing it,” Stewart said. “It’ll probably make some of the coaches and players a little intimidated because they’d be like, ‘Oh, the owner’s in here. So, I got to do this. I got to do that.’ So like, it’ll be a little awkward for other people if they did want to try to do it.”
But there’s little awkwardness in Indianapolis.
During the summer, Irsay-Gordon worked out in the Colts’ weight room while the team lifted. Long before taking over day-to-day ownership responsibilities, she put an emphasis on creating relationships with players. Subsequently, her bond with veterans like Stewart and Lewis has blossomed into connections outside football.
“She’s just really involved with everything, man,” Stewart said. “Like, we ain’t got to talk about football. We can talk about different foods. She loves being in the yard, and I love being in the yard, too. So, it’s different bonds and different conversations we can talk about instead of just football, football, football.”
Irsay-Gordon has three daughters, and Lewis often turns to her for parenting advice.
“I always ask for help on what to do or how to do it,” Lewis said. “We might even talk about Legos, just helping my child think and grow on building stuff.”
The Colts’ locker room support for Irsay-Gordon extends into fashion.
Before Indianapolis’ 38-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 26, Stewart and Lewis wore blue T-shirts with an animated picture of Irsay-Gordon placed front and center. Sporting a blue-and-white Breton-striped shirt, Irsay-Gordon has an earpiece, call sheet and pen while peering toward the field.
There was no special reason, no call to action, behind the shirts, which were free and ordered earlier in the week. It was merely a public nod to Irsay-Gordon from two of Indianapolis’ longest-tenured players.
“Everybody’s behind her,” Stewart said. “We’re always going to be behind her, no matter what’s going on. Me and (Lewis) wore the shirts and I was like, ‘Man, that’ll be a good idea to support Carlie.’”
‘All about the horseshoe’
Rooted in deep love for her players, organization and city, Irsay-Gordon’s persona isn’t a facade. She was three years old when her grandfather, Robert, moved the Colts from Baltimore to Indianapolis. Jim Irsay’s 12-year run as general manager began shortly thereafter.
Irsay-Gordon grew up around football. She has, along with Foyt and Jackson, merely taken over the family operation. Lewis said Irsay-Gordon is now teaching her children the ins and outs of the organization.
“She’s all about the horseshoe,” Lewis said. “She’s all about the players. This is a family-oriented business. So her background and her dad, like they always cared about the horseshoe and the complex and just everything around Indianapolis. So, we’re very grateful to have someone like her.”
Irsay-Gordon may be the NFL’s most unique owner, in part because she’s refreshingly normal. She’s a music aficionado who wants her employees — the Colts’ players, coaches and front-office members — to know she cares. She spends time with fans, and while she’s often in the public eye, she’s not there for photo opportunities.
She wants to win.
The Colts are firing on all cylinders under Irsay-Gordon’s leadership. One of the league’s most surprising early-season stories, Indianapolis enters Week 10 tied for the most wins in the NFL while boasting the league’s top-scoring offense.
Now, the high-flying Colts will make the transatlantic flight to Germany, where the Falcons (3–5) await for a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Locally known as the Olympiastadion, Germany’s largest stadium has 113 VIP boxes.
Irsay-Gordon won’t need one.
She’ll be in her usual spot, cemented on the Colts’ sideline, her ears filled with coach-speak and one hand clenching a pen. She’s not a distraction — she’s a motivator. And her team keeps soaring.
“She’s probably one of the most uplifting people you could be around at any time,” Lewis said. “She’s always empowering us. She’s always trying to do what’s best for us, for the team. She really cares about the horseshoe and the city of Indianapolis, and I think she’s doing a great job.”
