Twenty-five years after Baltimore, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay well out of shadow of father

Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay (AP Photo)

This weekend's 25th anniversary of the Indianapolis Colts' move from Baltimore merited barely a mention in Indy. Unsurprising. The move always was a bigger story back east, the spurned and bitter of an unfortunate situation always being more compelling than the beneficiaries.

But while Baltimore media ran the expected stories this week recounting the bitterness of its people, an astute Clark Judge of CBS Sports covered a different angle -- two angles, actually, each of which needed covering.

One is that Robert Irsay, then the Colts' owner, didn't really want to move. That's what Robert's son, Jim -- the Colts' Owner and Chief Executive Officer since Robert's death in 1997 -- told Judge last week at the NFL Owner's Meetings in Dana Point, Cal.

Which leads to the second angle, and that's this:

That 25 years after the Irsay name became forever cursed in Baltimore, Jim Irsay not only has shed his father's shadow, the younger Irsay has become one of the league's best owners.

It was Robert Irsay who made the decision to move the Colts from Baltimore, and Irsay recounted the situation to Judge -- and some pretty touching family stuff -- in good detail.

Irsay said his father didn't want to leave Baltimore. He also discussed in depth Robert Irsay's alcoholism. Reading the story, you get an appreciation for how much he admired his father while also understanding clearly his shortcomings. What struck me most about the story -- and I credit Clark for this, having pretty deep Baltimore roots -- is he gives Irsay the credit he deserves for being one of the NFL's best owners.

Before 2006, I used to think one of the best things that would happen if the Colts made the Super Bowl was it would give the national media a forum to relay to the public how underappreciated Irsay is as an owner. For years before the Super Bowl, he was closely associated with his father. Too often, fans nationally didn't appreciate or realize the difference in the two.

That has changed. Maybe it was the Super Bowl. Or maybe it's time, but people don't seem to associate the two as closely anymore. But it struck me during the Super Bowl run and afterward that despite the success, Irsay doesn't get quite the credit he deserves. Almost certainly it's because by comparison he's a fairly low-profile owner who generally stays out of the way.

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So, if he's so low-key, why does he deserve credit? Because although Irsay spent years as the Colts' general manager upon their arrival in Indianapolis, he was smart enough upon assuming ownership to not get heavily involved. He hired one of the game's best executives, Bill Polian, and gave him control. He hired Jim Mora, and when Mora was fired in January of 2002, Tony Dungy came available days later.

It's easy to forget now that Dungy didn't walk from his Tampa offices, and fly immediately to Indianapolis to finish what eventually became almost a fairy-tale story. He also interviewed with Carolina, and seriously considered not coaching. What Irsay did was completely in character.

He didn't try to be coy. He didn't try to feel Dungy out. He called Dungy ammediately ceded bargaining power, saying he was the clear first choice for the job and essentially saying whatever Dungy wanted was his.

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It wasn't orthodox, but Irsay's not orthodox. But he does know what he wants and what he wants mostly is for the Colts to win, and in 2002 he wanted Dungy no matter what it took.

A no-brainer? Sure, now. And Polian looks like a no-brainer now, too, but remember: no decision is a no-brainer before it happens. There were three decisions that set the tone for the Colts' recent decade of success. Irsay was the primary decision-maker behind two -- Polian and Dungy -- and months after Polian's hiring, Polian chose the third, which of course is quarterback Peyton Manning.

Had any of those decisions turned out wrong, doubtless Irsay would be blamed, so you've got to give him the credit when they're right. It's not something that gets discussed a lot, and that's why I give Clark Judge a lot of credit, because even with his Baltimore roots, he subjectively read this one just right.