Owner Irsay is block that Colts' winning engine is built on

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts aren't the Team of the Decade. The New England Patriots are because, frankly, while they haven't won as many games they have won more Super Bowls.

But the Colts just broke New England's record for consecutive regular-season wins with their 22nd, are in the midst of their seventh straight year with 12 or more victories and just established the NFL record for most wins in a decade with 114 -- beating San Francisco's mark of 113, set in the 1990s when the 49ers won their last Super Bowls.

Irsay hires the right people and lets them bring success to Indy. (Getty Images)

"That," said Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay, "is literally unimaginable."

No, it's not. Everything is imaginable with the Indianapolis Colts, and we all know why. It's having Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy on the same side. It's replacing Dungy with Jim Caldwell, the perfect successor, and keeping former offensive coordinator Tom Moore and offensive line coach Howard Mudd around after it appeared they would leave. Most of all, it is having everyone answer to team president Bill Polian, generally regarded as one of the premier executives in pro sports.

But something is missing here, and that something is Irsay. When the Patriots win there's a lot of love for owner Robert Kraft, and the same goes for Dan Rooney and the Pittsburgh Steelers or Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. So how come Irsay gets about as much attention for Indianapolis' success as Blue, the team's mascot?

I don't know, but it's time to face facts, and the facts are these: It is Irsay who brought in Polian, and it is Irsay who pays Manning the big bucks, and it is Irsay who kept the Colts in Indianapolis with a robust, state-of-the-art stadium and it is Irsay who sets the direction for one of the most successful franchises in recent history.

"He does a lot more than sign the checks, trust me," Polian said. "He has a football mind, just like Dan Rooney and Wellington Mara. He understands the X's and O's, as well as the business side in every detail, and he has a unique grasp of the overall global strategy for the franchise.

"This is his vision. The success we have now is how he envisioned it happening."

The success the Colts have now is remarkable. As tight end Dallas Clark said the other day, "it's tough just to win three or four in a row," but the Colts are way, way beyond that. With three weeks left they could run the table if they don't rest their starters -- a conversation we can hold for another day. But it's not just that they're 13-0; it's that they're almost always at or near the top of the AFC, winning their first seven games four of the past seven seasons.

Now this.

"When you go 22 in a row, that is difficult to do," Caldwell said after the Denver win. "It's built on the shoulders of several guys who aren't even in that locker room, Tony [Dungy] included. Then we look at 114 victories, now in a decade, that's a lot of wins and a lot of guys took part in that. You look at the ownership, Bill Polian and a lot of people who have been involved."

For the moment, I'm looking at the ownership. When Eddie DeBartolo steered the San Francisco 49ers through two decades of unparalleled success he did so by hiring the right people, trusting in them and making continuity the signature of the league's premier franchise. Irsay followed that script with the Colts, with two people close to the club pointing to his ability to "hire the right people and let them do their jobs."

Polian is the obvious example. Irsay brought him in, then let him do what he does best -- which is run a football team. It was Polian who drafted Manning. It was Polian who drafted Reggie Wayne. It was Polian who swung the deal that allowed the Colts to draft Edgerrin James. And it was Polian who keeps stocking the cupboards with relatively unknown young talent, with receivers Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon the latest to make an impact.

But Polian wouldn't be there without Irsay, and Irsay knows enough about running a franchise to leave Polian alone. The results speak for themselves, and the results were there for everyone to see Sunday when the Colts kept rolling with a 28-16 defeat of Denver -- a victory that took down New England and San Francisco in the process.

"Surpassing the 49ers is a huge thing," Irsay said. "People don't realize this, but if we had the old system [pre-cap system], and we didn't lose the Steve McKinneys, the Jake Scotts, the Marcus Washingtons and all those guys ... I mean, when you think of the '80s, with the way we draft, if we could have kept all of our guys you wonder just how dominant we could have been."

I don't. I marvel at just how dominant they are. They have one of the best quarterbacks in the business. They have one of the top wide receivers in the game. They have one of the best pass rushers and one of the toughest, surest, most effective defensive backs. And they surrounded them with a cast of supporting actors that fit the club so perfectly the Colts have become a playoff fixture.

Quick, now, name the only team that has been to the playoffs each season dating back to 2002. It's the Colts, and this year they're not only in ... they're at the top of the AFC. With their victory Sunday, they gained home-field advantage for the second time in five seasons, following the path of the 2005 Colts -- a club that also won its first 13 games.

"The season-[ending] injuries to Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson have made a difference this year," said Irsay, comparing the two. "And then, of course, there's the [Anthony] Gonzalez injury. Everyone has injuries, so to compare this team to 2005 ... it's real close, but time will tell.

Irsay's GM Bill Polian brought in big-time performers like Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. (US Presswire)

"The biggest component will be the running game. Then, we had the offensive line, with all the veterans in their primes. The Donald Brown injury has hurt because we need a guy who can make huge plays, turn 3 yards into 20 or 30 and complement Joseph [Addai]. With Donald coming back, and if the line stays healthy I think this team could be right there with the '05 team.

"But I do think there's a special ingredient that has presented itself, and that is an intangible ingredient. With coaches [Larry] Coyer [the defensive coordinator] and Jim Caldwell we're going into the playoffs a much more unpredictable team in terms of design. "

Unpredictable is not an adjective I'd use to describe the Colts. They are what they are, and what they are is an elite club that seldom has a bad day. So they lose one here or there. It happens. The Colts win a lot more than they lose, and their success can be traced to a continuity that few clubs outside Pittsburgh, New England and the New York Giants share. As one person close to the organization said, "There are a lot of people who have been here 20-plus years, and that says it all."

Polian tells a story of the 2003 draft and how the Colts were torn on two players in the first round. One was an unspecified defensive player whom Dungy wanted; the other was Clark, a hybrid tight end Polian favored. The question was: Which would they take?

"Dallas Clark is a special player, and if it were up to me I'd take him," Irsay said. "I'm not trying to pressure you. You do what you have to."

Dungy looked at Polian.

"Looks like we're taking Dallas Clark," he said.

They did, and I'd say that worked out OK.

"He will offer his opinions," Polian said, "but he always lets you make the call. He gives you every opportunity to do your job, and that's all you can ask."

He also gives his employees the resources to make things happen. As Polian pointed out, it was Irsay who dug into his own pockets to make sure Manning was signed the last time his contract was up.

Another employee told a story of how he approached Irsay in 1996 to plead for a marketing campaign to sell the Colts to their fans in Indiana. At the time, there was no budget. So Irsay developed one, spending where money had not been spent before.

"He has a grasp of every facet of the game," Polian said. "I worked for Ralph Wilson in Buffalo, and he reminds a lot of Mr. Wilson. Not only does he know the game; he's an old-school kind of guy. He cares about families and relationships."

Under Irsay, the Colts rose to the top of their division with Jim Mora, then stayed there five of seven years under Dungy. Dungy never won fewer than 10 games in a season and won as many as 14 one year, and he left not because anyone squeezed him out but because he wanted to spend more time with his family. Now it's Caldwell, Dungy's hand-picked successor, who is in charge and who hasn't lost a game -- setting a league record for the best start by a rookie head coach.

Just a hunch, but I'd say he'll stick around a long time, too, and let's hear it for Irsay. He hired the right guy, and the right guy has the Colts in the right place.

Again.

"With all the things that can go wrong in this era, it's a tremendous accomplishment to do what we have done," Irsay said. "I would really look at all the things we do because you live more in the regular season than the postseason. I know the goal is to win the Lombardi Trophy, but I'm very much aware of the greatness we have every time we take the field. So all this means a lot to me."

It should. He built it. He owns it. And he should be recognized for it.