Since taking over as principal owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts following her father Jim Irsay's death in 2025, Carlie Irsay-Gordon has taken on a very hands-on approach during games and stands on the Colts' sideline wearing a headset and talking to coaches.
Irsay-Gordon was heavily involved in the franchise even before becoming principal owner, having spent over a decade as vice chair and co-owner, but since ascending to the role of principal owner, her decision to stand on the sideline during games has proved to be a contentious one.
With the Colts struggling this year and sitting at 2-5 on the season, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith is wondering if her being on the sidelines every game is just performative.
"You can't defend what the hell this organization has been. You can't defend this owner," Smith said on Wednesday's episode of First Take. "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."
"She fired a guy. She fired somebody. She did do something," Jeff Saturday interjected, noting the firing of longtime general manager Chris Ballard.
However, that wasn't enough for Smith, who apparently wants her to clean house.
"Why the coach stay? Why the coach there? What's he there for?" he wondered. "Let the people in Indianapolis know you moving in a different direction."
Smith isn't the only one to address Irsay-Gordon's presence on the sideline recently. Former Colts quarterback Sean Salisbury feels that the situation is a "disaster."
"I told you when the season started when an owner stands on the sideline taking notes, you're f*cked," Salisbury said. "I know people are going to focus on men or women, I don't care what the gender is…
"I don't care if you're SpongeBob SquarePants. That is no place for the owner to be [on the sideline]. I have a lot of respect for the Irsays, I do. But the second you come downstairs during a game – not during the end – I'm telling you it's a disaster. … Players do not like to feel like they're being micro-managed."
With the Colts being 2-5 and in the middle of a fire sale, their owner trying to learn the way her team operates is far from the franchise's most pressing concern.
The post 'What you on the sideline for?': Stephen A. Smith does not hold back on Colts owner, wants her to 'do somthing' appeared first on The Comeback: Today's Top Sports Stories & Reactions .
