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Jim Irsay Opens up on the Process That Led the Colts to Anthony Richardson
(By Zak Keefer)
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/447...hardson-colts/
INDIANAPOLIS — 3 hours before the draft’s first round commenced Thursday night, Anthony Richardson’s phone buzzed. Jim Irsay began with a directive.
“You can’t share this call with anyone,” the Colts owner told him. “The fact that I’m calling you.”
Irsay wanted to know a few things, starting with this: What was Richardson hearing? The Florida quarterback and projected top-10 pick was spending the afternoon of the biggest day of his life doing exactly what most would assume: waiting ...… and waiting …... and waiting.
In a few short hours, he’d find out where his pro career would start.
Richardson told Irsay he’d heard that one team was seriously interested in him.
“Did they call today?” the owner asked.
“No,” Richardson told him.
“Well, there’s a good chance you’re gonna be coming to Indy in three hours,” Irsay said.
He couldn’t guarantee it, not with the Colts picking fourth, but that was the team’s aim, the same as it had been for months. Irsay admitted Saturday he’d zeroed in on Richardson as far back as February, and even if his team owned the first overall pick, the choice would’ve been the same.
For the Colts, it was Richardson all along.
“That young man has something special in his heart and spirit and soul,” Irsay said.
But a little over three hours after that phone call, the Colts’ draft room grew tense. Two quarterbacks — Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud — were already off the board, and the Colts knew Arizona was likely to trade out of the third spot. The fear was another team coming up to get their guy, right in front of them. And Indy’s “dream goal,” Irsay admitted, was to stay at No. 4 and still land Richardson without parting with any compensation.
It was a gamble, and the stakes were immense. Irsay had waited for this night for three years, desperately wanting to revive his franchise around the talents of a young quarterback.
And for a few worrisome moments in that draft room, the thought crossed everyone’s mind. Were the Colts about to lose their shot at him ???
“Of course there was nervousness,” Irsay admitted.
But something in the Colts’ owner oozed calm. He turned to his daughters.
“We’re gonna be OK,” he told them.
Turns out, it was the Texans who’d traded up with Arizona. The pick was Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson.
Irsay was right. The Colts were OK. The room exhaled, and Richardson was theirs.
Nearly 48 hours later, the Colts’ owner relived the night that could end up reshaping his franchise, peeling back the curtain on the process and the conversations that solidified the decision. One noteworthy revelation from the owner: If Richardson wasn’t available at No. 4, the Colts would’ve gone with Kentucky’s Will Levis.
That certainly would’ve saved Levis a lot of waiting. He tumbled all the way into the second round before the Titans took him 33rd.
A critical moment in the process was a lengthy sit-down between Irsay and his new head coach, Shane Steichen, in recent weeks. All throughout the process, Steichen’s’ voice carried considerable weight in the Colts’ thinking — in Irsay’s mind, it’s Steichen’s offense, and he’s calling the plays, so the coach should have his say in who his quarterback of the future is.
“For Shane, it had to be his guy,” the owner said.
In that meeting a few weeks before the draft, Irsay didn’t hold back, pushing Steichen to detail why Richardson would improve as a passer and why he believed his play eventually would catch up to his enormous potential.
The owner had questions, like why Richardson started so few games in college.
Irsay also asked, “Why do you think he can be an outstanding passer in this league ???"
As much as Irsay and everyone in the Colts’ personnel department loves Richardson’s athletic ability — the owner called him “a superhero” multiple times Saturday — this was a crucial layer in the team’s evaluation. The scrambling ability is nice, the busted plays that end up moving the chains and instilling doubt in a defense, but Irsay knows winning from the pocket is still paramount in this league, and he knows Richardson will have to prove he can do that.
“I’ve seen enough to really feel he can become that,” Steichen assured his boss.
Another call Irsay made was to former Colts linebackers coach Brad White, who’s now the defensive coordinator at Kentucky. White had a front-row seat for not only Levis’ two seasons in Lexington but also Richardson’s start against the Wildcats last season, his worst of the year. Richardson finished with 21 incompletions, just 143 passing yards and two interceptions in a 26-16 loss.
White spoke of Richardson’s toughness and maturity. And since he knew plenty of the coaches on Florida’s staff, he shared some of the conversations he’d had with them.
“They just love the kid,” White told Irsay. “They just think the world of that young man, every single one I talk to.”
The final meeting came after the pick, after the Colts had sweated out the third pick Thursday and, then, landed their quarterback of the future. Irsay welcomed Richardson and his family to town, flying them in from Kansas City on his private jet. The quarterback sat in Irsay’s spacious office, a few feet from a half-dozen million-dollar guitars and the glistening Lombardi Trophy the Colts won after the 2006 season.
Also on hand was the last player the Colts picked fourth overall, Edgerrin James. A career that began in 1999 culminated with a spot in the Hall of Fame in 2021.
Irsay looked at Richardson at one point and told him: “You play 12 or 14 years in this league and you’re an outstanding quarterback, you’re gonna make a billion dollars. A billion. A billion.”
But the owner had more to say.
“That’s something for your family, your legacy and generations to go,” he told him, “but what about greatness? What about rings? What about the Lombardi? What about your legacy as a football player ???”
Anthony Richardson's little brother sent a message of support after he was drafted by the Colts.
And big brother gave some advice right back.
He turned to James.
“You know, I was just in Canton with this guy …... ”
Irsay’s point: If it’s your athleticism that got you this far, it’s your quarterback play that’ll define your legacy in this league.
“We talked about being a great quarterback and what that really means in this league,” the owner said Saturday. “We’re not drafting Olympic athletes. We’re drafting football players, and in this case, a quarterback.”
The most relevant question at this juncture is when will Richardson see the field ???
Irsay said it’ll be Steichen’s call ...... but deep down, the owner hinted, he wants a glimpse at the future as soon as possible.
“You get better by playing,” Irsay said Saturday. “You know, that’s the biggest benefit from it. And at the same time, I have to say, our fans have to have patience because it’s hard being a rookie quarterback. It really is.”
Richardson’s time will come, whether it’s in Week 1 or Week 8 or next season. He’s the future, the one Irsay’s been waiting for, the one he hopes changes everything in Indianapolis.
“Him developing into an outstanding, great player in this league is going to determine where we go,” the owner said.
It’s always been about the quarterback around here. The Colts now finally have one to build around.
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