Jim Irsay hasn’t been quiet about his expectations for his Indianapolis Colts teams over the years: he’s previously said that he expects multiple Super Bowl championships with Andrew Luck under center.
That’s a lofty expectation to set, and at times it has led to Irsay’s baffling slights (sometimes intended, sometimes just perceived) at the Peyton Manning era. But the Colts haven’t lived up to those expectations so far, and that has led to the team entering more of a rebuilding mode this year.
Nonetheless, Irsay is standing by his prior expectations: he wants multiple Lombardi trophies from this era.
“I’ve said it before – we’re into plural Lombardis,” Irsay said at last night’s Town Hall, according to the Indianapolis Star’s Zak Keefer. “That’s what our goal is. And I’ll be damned if we don’t go out and get them.”
I’ll say this for him: Jim Irsay is incredibly passionate about his team, and I guarantee you that there’s no one who hopes for these expectations to be realized than Irsay himself. He’s also shown that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to that level, as whether the moves have worked out or not Irsay has been willing to do what it takes.
And as far as expectations go, this is understandable: the Colts were basically handed one of the best quarterback prospects in years who has certainly lived up to expectations, so you’d think that they should be able to consistently contend for titles. They did reach the AFC Championship game in 2014, but they weren’t all that close to the Super Bowl considering the way the game went (but at least they can forever remember being the “AFC Finalist”). With the quarterback in place, however, the Colts realistically should be able to put together a competent team around him that contends for Lombardi Trophies. At the same time, however, Colts fans know better than probably any other fanbase in the league how unpredictable the playoffs can be, so the best way to try to win the Super Bowl is to build a team that is consistently in the playoffs. That’s the first step for the Colts (who have missed the postseason in each of the last two years), and from there they can continue to build a stronger team that hopefully could make it to the Super Bowl and win.
The debatable part about this is whether Irsay should be so public about expecting multiple Super Bowl championships, because again, things can be so unpredictable in the postseason. Some fans love this type of confidence, while others think that Irsay should shut up and let the work on the field do the talking. Whatever your opinion on that, I think everyone can agree that it’s easy to talk about these titles, but it’s much, much harder to actually do it. Jim Irsay knows that better than anyone.