Irsay to town hall: 'I'll be damned' if we don't get 2 Super Bowls

Zak Keefer | IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS – In a first-ever event of this kind for the franchise, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay took to a town hall of season ticket holders Thursday night to double down on his mandate of multiple Super Bowl triumphs during the Andrew Luck era.

And, in true Jim Irsay fashion, he was in no way timid about it.

“I’ve said it before – we’re into plural Lombardis,” Irsay said, his voice rising, his conviction evident. “That’s what our goal is. And I’ll be damned if we don’t go out and get them.”



More than 1,000 season ticket holders who packed Clowes Hall at Butler University met Irsay’s bold proclamation with thunderous applause.

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Among the reasons for Irsay’s optimism: Luck’s recovery from January surgery on his throwing shoulder. Despite Luck still not throwing the football five months into his recovery, and not participating in any of the team’s offseason workouts to date — not at all surprising considering the severity of the operation — Irsay, to the relief of those in attendance, stressed that Luck is “healing tremendously.”

He then offered more details on the operation than he or any member of the organization had to date.

“This has been a positive thing, not a negative thing or anything like that,” Irsay said of Luck’s surgery. “He was really struggling, going through the process of getting ready to play (last season). This was, quite frankly, not that complicated of a surgery. It was a simple labrum repair. There are a lot of other things that could’ve gone into that type of surgery that weren’t involved at all.”

Irsay has stated he believes Luck will be under center when the Colts open the regular season Sept. 10 in Los Angeles against the Rams. A labrum repair in the throwing shoulder of an NFL quarterback can require anywhere from six to nine months to fully heal, according to surgeons familiar with the operation. Training camp, set to begin the final week of July, arrives six months after Luck went under the knife.

General manager Chris Ballard repeatedly has stressed that the team will not put Luck back on the field until he is fully cleared.

As for the quarterback, who joined teammates Adam Vinatieri, Kendall Langford, Jack Doyle and first-round draft pick Malik Hooker on stage Thursday night, Luck was predictably vague when asked about his progress.

“Feeling great,” he said. “Rehab’s going very well. It’s a long and patient process.” He later added that throwing at this stage of his recovery is “not a revelation. It’s part of the process. That’s all you can worry about right now.”

The event, hosted by former quarterback and current ESPN NFL analyst Matt Hasselbeck, was the first town hall in the Colts’ 33-year Indianapolis history. Fans had the chance to greet both coach Chuck Pagano and Ballard, as well as listen to on-stage discussions with the above players and the most important decision-makers in the franchise.

Irsay, who spoke alongside his oldest daughter, Colts vice chair-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon, offered a spirited appeal to his fan base.

“The passion that you all have, trust me, it’s right here,” he said, pounding his chest. “I’m telling you, when we come into work, we come into work with that sort of attitude and that sort of passion and that sort of fight. It’s there.

“I just wish you guys could see the heart of Andrew Luck and Chris Ballard and Chuck Pagano. It’s really an inspiration in terms of what we have and where this franchise has a chance to go.”

Here’s what else we learned:

• Near the end of the program, Irsay offered another bold statement: “Let me say this: the offensive line is fixed,” he said to more applause. “I’m telling you guys, the offensive line is fixed. The reason I’ll tell you it’s fixed is because (former longtime Colts offensive line coach) Howard Mudd told me it’s fixed. If Howard Mudd tells you it’s fixed, trust me, it’s fixed.”

Long a headache during the Luck era, the Colts have invested mightily in rebuilding one of the league’s worst offensive lines in recent seasons, spending five picks over the course of the past two drafts on young linemen. The unit showed substantial progress late last season; still, the numbers were ugly. Luck was pressured on a league-high 279 dropbacks last year, and he’s been hit as he’s thrown more times (50) than any QB in football since 2012, according to Pro Football Focus.

The January surgery stemmed from a beating Luck took all the way back in Week 3 of the 2015 season. He routinely took pain-killing injections before games that year and missed practices on a weekly basis last season.

“We’ve worked hard to bring in the right type of players (on the offensive line),” Irsay said. “We’re ready to run the football and protect Andrew.”

• Irsay’s affection for Ballard has been evident in the months that have passed since his hiring in late January. “I just have to tell our fans that Chris Ballard is the real thing,” Irsay said. “I’m telling ya, there are many a team out there that wanted him. He wanted to be here.”

The owner went as far as to say Ballard’s rebuild is even further along than he thought it would be at this point. The Colts welcomed 13 free agents on the defensive side of the ball this offseason and could have as many as eight new starters come Week 1.

The players have welcomed the change, as well.

“He’s awesome,” said Vinatieri, at 44 the oldest player in football and the longest-tenured Colt. “He came in and he wanted to rattle stuff up right away. He’s making big changes, all for the better. He really wants to win and succeed and I think he’s taking steps in the right direction, making sure we have what we need.”

• Hooker, the first-round pick at safety out of Ohio State, revealed that his day-to-day schedule begins at the facility around 6 a.m. That’s when rehab starts for a January surgery he underwent on his hip. Hooker has begun lifting weights and emphasized once again he expects to be on the field for the start of training camp.

• Pagano elected to give the team a day off from offseason workouts Thursday. Instead, they went paintballing.

“(The idea was) team building, camaraderie — instead I got bunch of welts,” Pagano said. “It was a great opportunity for our guys to get off campus, do something a little bit different.”



The Colts — at this point a 90-man roster — broke into teams, separating each position group so players could get to know some of their teammates better.

“I was praying, down on my hands and knees, nobody turn an ankle,” Pagano joked.

Call IndyStar reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134. Follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.