La Canfora: Irsay ‘taking back his franchise’
Published: January 8th, 2012 | Tags: Jim Irsay, Colts, Jason La Canfora, Michael Lombardi, NFL GameDay Morning
Colts owner Jim Irsay sent shock waves throughout the NFL last week when he fired vice chairman Bill Polian and general manager Chris Polian. It was a move that NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora hears was about Irsay taking control of his franchise.
“The one thing I took from his press conference, and what I continue to hear from people around the league is he seems to be taking back his franchise,” La Canfora told “NFL GameDay Morning” on Sunday. “With Bill Polian, there was a certain culture there where (he) was kind of the dictator. Polian was going to say what goes, in marketing and on the football field — in every piece of that enterprise.
“Irsay is taking it back, and I think whomever he hires is going to have far less experience and less power than Polian did.”
Considering all of the uncertainty the Colts face this offseason and the delicate situation involving QB Peyton Manning, NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi said hiring an inexperienced GM might be a mistake.
“They’re going to need experience,” he said. “They have some really tough decisions ahead of them, and they’ve got to build a structure in terms of improving the talent base of their team and they’ve got to deal with some situations.
“It’s really a giant task for someone to come in, and an inexperienced guy will struggle as me moves forward,” Lombardi added. ”Maybe that’s why perhaps Jim Irsay wants to hire somebody, so he can do a lot of the work.”