When the Colts announced several weeks ago that head coach Chuck Pagano would be retained, the team indicated that general manager Ryan Grigson would receive a new contract of his own to coincide with Pagano’s new four-year deal. That extension has now been finalized, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who tweets that Grigson got three years added to his contract and is now locked up through 2019.
Grigson, who previously worked for the Eagles as the team’s director of college scouting and then their director of player personnel, was hired by the Colts in 2012 as the team’s general manager. Grigson’s first draft pick in Indianapolis was quarterback Andrew Luck, who has helped lead the team to three playoff berths in the last four seasons.
As the Colts struggled through the 2015 season, however, with Luck battling injuries and missing a chunk of the season, some of Grigson’s personnel decisions came under fire. Veteran free agents expected to be major contributors in 2015, such as Andre Johnson, Trent Cole, and Todd Herremans, underperformed, and Pagano and Grigson reportedly weren’t seeing eye to eye on multiple team matters.
However, rather than clear house at season’s end, Colts owner Jim Irsay decided to bet on Pagano and Grigson bouncing back from a poor 2015 showing. With a handful of offseason decisions around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see how the GM handles free agency and the draft this time around, with a new contract in hand that gives him a little more security. There has been speculation that the Colts won’t be as aggressive on veteran free agents this winter.
Tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen are among the top potential free agents for the Colts this offseason, while an extension for Luck will almost certainly be addressed within the next year or so.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Grigson is a Buffon. Only the Bears ex GM Emery was worse. He and Irsay deserve each other.