Zak Keefer

zak.keefer@indystar.com

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts and owner Jim Irsay have been busy of late, setting up interviews to determine the man who'll replace Ryan Grigson as the team's general manager.

The Colts — who sent interim GM Jimmy Raye III and coach Chuck Pagano down to Mobile, Ala. this week for the Senior Bowl — have requested permission to speak to at least six NFL executives, according to various reports. Those six: Trent Kirchner and Scott Fitterer from Seattle, Eric DeCosta of Baltimore, Minnesota's George Paton, Green Bay's Eliot Wolf and Kansas City's Chris Ballard.

Those names come in addition to Raye, who Irsay said Saturday would receive an interview for the permanent general manager position.

It's very likely a decision that will take some time; Irsay didn't rush the decision to fire Grigson, first meeting for three weeks with football minds across the league he respects. He interviewed 25 different candidates before hiring Grigson back in 2012.

Three days into the Colts' search, here are the candidates that have emerged to replace Grigson as the Colts general manager:

Name: Jimmy Raye III

Current job: Interim GM/vice president of football operations, Indianapolis Colts

Though Raye III has a head start on the other candidates – he’s worked for the Colts for four seasons – it’s no guarantee he’ll be the man who earns the job. Raye’s track record is respected: He spent 17 years with the San Diego Chargers, rising from low-level scout to the role of director of player personnel his last five years with the club. The Chargers won five AFC West titles during his stay.

In Indianapolis, Raye worked as Grigson’s right-hand man since 2013. Among his many tasks was leading the team’s search for undrafted free agents. Over the past two seasons, eight made the active roster and played in a regular-season game, including running back Tyler Varga and outside linebacker Curt Maggitt.

Grigson, who was fired Saturday, made it clear last season that Raye wasn’t simply there to agree with him.

“I think anyone will tell you that Jimmy Raye is the furthest thing from a ‘yes man’ there is in this league,” Grigson told Colts.com. “Quite frankly, I don’t like to hear some of his opinions sometimes, because I may be leaning very hard in a certain way and express a passionate position in an animated way, but Jimmy is someone who can hit you right back between the eyes with a well thought-out alternative perspective in a very matter-of-fact way.”

Name: Eliot Wolf

Current job: Director of Football Operations, Green Bay Packers

Wolf is seen across the league as a future front office star, a general manager in waiting. He has been promoted five times by the Packers since 2005, and currently works right under general manager Ted Thompson as the team's director of football operations.

Recently pursued by the 49ers for their vacant general manager job, Wolf eventually withdrew his name from consideration and signed an extension in Green Bay.

Wolf, 34, is the son of former Packers executive and Hall of Famer Ron Wolf.

Name: Eric DeCosta

Current job: Assistant general manager, Baltimore Ravens

DeCosta, a Ravens lifer, offers a unique connection: He has previously worked with Colts coach Chuck Pagano and defensive coordinator Ted Monachino.

He started with Baltimore when the franchise was born in 1996 at an entry-level position. He's climbed the ladder since, and has worked closely with Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome – one of the most respected men in football – to build the Ravens into a consistent AFC North contender. He went from area scout to director of college scouting to director of player personnel to his current gig.

DeCosta also served on the eight-member committee that eventually hired Ravens head coach John Harbaugh in 2008.

Name: Chris Ballard

Current job: Director of Player Personnel, Kansas City Chiefs

Ballard is another hot commodity in the front office world; the 49ers sought an interview with him for their general manager spot but Kansas City exercised its right to block the interview, since the Chiefs were still in the playoffs. That's no longer the case.

Ballard arrived in Kansas City in 2013 and has worked under general manager John Dorsey, helping engineer a revitalization that peaked in 2016 with the Chiefs winning the AFC West and grabbing the No. 2 seed in the conference.

Coming off a 2-14 season in 2012, the Chiefs have won at least nine games in each of the past four seasons and advanced to the playoffs three times.

Name: Trent Kirchner.

Current job: Co-director of pro personnel, Seattle Seahawks

Kirchner, like Raye and Grigson, began his climb as a scout. He served as a public relations/scouting intern for the Seahawks his first year out of college, in 2000, spent another year as the Washington Redskins’ college scouting coordinator before moving to Charlotte, where he worked as a scout with the Panthers for eight seasons.

Kirchner moved to Seattle in 2010, taking the job of assistant director of pro personnel. In the seven years since, he’s helped build, along with highly-respected General Manager John Schneider, the Seahawks into an NFC power. Seattle has been to two Super Bowls during his tenure and won one.

Name: Scott Fitterer

Current job: Co-director of pro personnel, Seattle Seahawks

The man who shares a title with Kirchner, Fitterer has also had a hand in building the Seahawks’ dominant defense. He joined the Seahawks in 2001 as an area scout and has since risen to the role of director of college scouting and, finally, co-director of pro personnel. As the head of the college scouting department, he engineered drafts that landed the Seahawks the core of the defense that has produced three of the past four NFC West titles: Earl Thomas (2010), Kam Chancellor (2010), Richard Sherman (2011) and Bobby Wagner (2012).

Fitterer also recently interviewed for the 49ers general manager opening — the only other GM job currently available — but did not make the list of finalists.

Name: George Paton

Current job: Assistant general manager, Minnesota Vikings

Paton has spent the past decade in Minnesota and the past six working under General Manager Rick Spielman, helping shrewdly build a team through the draft that figures to contend in the NFC North for years to come. Paton also worked with Spielman in Chicago and Miami.

Paton reportedly has been tagged as the front-runner for the vacant 49ers general manager opening.

Colts GM search: One of NFL's most coveted jobs is open