With news of Irsay's ban leaking out through various sources, it didn't take long for potential ownership groups to take shape. In the end MSMG (Midwest Sports Management Group), headlined by Midwestern billionaire Warren Buffett, scooped up the team and set about rebuilding the franchise's image. The vast majority of team ownership (85%) is made up of a who's who in Midwestern / Indiana billionaires, the NFL was swayed not only by the finances but the idea of keeping the Colts in local hands. Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) is joined by William Wrigley Jr. (Wrigley Management), Gayle Cook (Cook Group), and Herbert Simon (Simon Property Group) as the principal owners with Wrigley Jr. mostly taking charge as the face of team ownership.
The new face of ownership in Indianapolis.
Even with MSMG taking over they decided to keep team management in place so current GM Ryan Grigson would stay on for the near future. Ownership also came out in support of the current coaching staff and pledged to stay with Chuck Pagano and his coordinators. The Colts have avoided a complete rebuilding of the staff, but ownership is probably smart enough to know that March through July is a bad time to hire a completely new coaching staff. The next season or two will be key in determining what direction the team will move in.
EXPECTATIONS & TEAM TRAJECTORY
The Colts have been all over the map, especially since the departure of Peyton Manning, from Superbowl Champions to the top pick in the draft. The last two seasons under Andrew Luck were almost complete aberrations, with the surprise 11-5 season in 2012 prompting the previous ownership to double-down on 2013 and end up at 11-5 again. The sudden and almost unbelievable collapse of the Houston Texans helped the Colts to an AFC South title last year, but they will probably need more of the same to repeat and some serious help to win 10+ again.
A quick look at the numbers, thanks to Football Outsiders (FO), shows us that the Colts are in for some rough times.
2011 DVOA : TOTAL 31 (2-14). No surprise here the season ended with the top pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Manning-less Colts were terrible on offense and defense. FO had them at 3.0 wins and they couldn't even do that.
2012 DVOA : TOTAL 25, OFF 18, DEF 31, SP 12 (11-5). This was a real stunner, with FO predicting 6.2 wins, no team outperformed their projection more than the Colts.
2013 DVOA : TOTAL 21, OFF 13, DEF 16, SP 18 (11-5). Buoyed by the fall of Houston the Colts outperformed the predictions again (9.5 wins), but the wins papered over some serious concerns. The Colts ranked 21st in DVOA but made it to 11 wins again thanks to one of the weakest schedules in the NFL and a bunch of close calls.
DRAFT / FREE AGENCY IMPACT
The Colts only had five picks in the 2013 NFL Draft thanks to the Trent Richardson trade sending their 1st round selection to Cleveland. Only two of their picks, 2nd rounder OT Jack Mewhort and 3rd round WR Dante Moncrief, figure to have much impact this year. The Colts drafted with purpose, even with only five picks, and added depth to their offensive line and linebacker corps.
Can Hamilton and Luck make it back to the playoffs?
Free Agency was fairly similar to the draft as the Colts scooped up defensive depth. The additions of LB D'Qwell Jackson (Cleveland), DE Arthur Jones (Dallas), and S Mike Adams (Denver) represent some help, but the loss of S Antoine Bethea leaves a huge hole in the secondary. The biggest name coming over was WR Hakeem Nicks, but most analysts doubt that he will be able to replicate the 1000+ yard 2010-11 seasons he produced in New York. Nicks has also failed to play in all 16 games during his previous five years in the league, not a good sign for the Colts.
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