Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson was fired on Saturday in a move that comes as a bit of a surprise considering how late in the postseason the move was made.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter was the first to report the news.
The Grigson Era in Indianapolis started strong but limped to a finish. He was hired as general manager in January 2012 and won Executive of the Year award from Pro Football Weekly and Sporting News. Save for the AFC Championship appearance in January 2015, things went downhill quickly. Grigson’s regime took a loss when it traded a first-round pick for Trent Richardson in 2013 – Richardson was out of the NFL a year later after rushing for 977 yards in 29 games with the Colts.
(Grigson also started Deflategate when he asked NFL officials to check the balls used by the Patriots, in case you were curious on who to blame for that ordeal.)
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Two-time Pro Bowl punter Pat McAfee didn’t exactly hide his feelings upon learning of the breaking news:
Thank God
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2017
"Unwarranted Arrogance" just ran into a brick wall called karma.
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2017
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The Colts will retain head coach Chuck Pagano for 2017. He had consecutive 11-win seasons in 2013 and 2014, but his teams have gone 8-8 in each of the last two seasons. Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning is not in the running to replace Grigson, according to owner Jim Irsay.
Viewing this move through orange-and-blue-tinted lenses, you could make a case that Bears GM Ryan Pace’s arrow is trending in a completely different direction than that of the now-departed Grigson. Even though the Colts have their franchise quarterback in place with Andrew Luck, Grigson struggled to piece together the right complementary pieces around him. Meanwhile, Pace has done well in adding complementary pieces, but not the quarterback.
This isn’t to say Pace isn’t facing any pressure, because another season that features double-digit losses will firmly put him on the hot seat. Further, if the Bears don’t put together another quality draft, it wouldn’t be out of the question to see Pace suffer the same fate this time next year.
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