People around the NFL expect Jim Irsay to “clean house” if Colts miss playoffs

The Indianapolis Colts are very likely to miss the playoffs, which would mark the first time the franchise has done so in back-to-back years since 1997 and 1998 - the latter of which was the first year of the Peyton Manning era.

It seems most people realize that the Colts should make changes, but it’s unclear whether the Colts will make changes after the stunning decision to keep Ryan Grigson and Chuck Pagano last year. It seems that people around the NFL expect changes to be made if indeed the Colts do miss the playoffs, however.

Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman wrote today about a number of the coaching situations around the league, basing what he wrote on interviews with some head coaches, assistant coaches, and team executives around the league. So it’s unclear whether these people actually have the sources to say it will happen, but either way it’s valuable to hear what they expect to happen.

Freeman writes that the sources he spoke with think that the Colts’ situation will depend on how the season ends, and he wrote:

[Irsay] may make a change or he may not. Got it?

Just to be clear, if the Colts miss the postseason, the expectation is Irsay will clean house. [Josh] McDaniels is mentioned here a lot as well.

Josh McDaniels, the Patriots’ offensive coordinator, was mentioned quite a bit in the article in connection to a number of jobs, so it’s possible that the people interviewed just think very highly of him. But it’s an interesting name to be thrown around in connection to the Colts job, as he’s a high-profile offensive coordinator who would theoretically help Andrew Luck and the offense achieve its potential (which is a smart strategy, though who that person would be could be debated).

Ultimately, a lot of this seems like speculation: it’s not a report that Irsay will in fact clean house if the Colts miss the playoffs, but it’s the expectation of people around the NFL that Freeman spoke with. This shouldn’t surprise many people, and it also doesn’t mean that it will happen - because after all, I’m sure most people would have expressed this opinion last year too. But if people around the league expect Irsay to clean house if the Colts miss the playoffs, that’s worth pointing out, and if it’s something people around the league think should happen, maybe Irsay should consider it too.