Colts fire GM Ryan Grigson

ByMIKE WELLS
January 21, 2017, 3:21 PM

— -- INDIANAPOLIS -- The Colts have fired general manager Ryan Grigson after five seasons, a league source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.?

Grigson was under contract for three more years -- as is head coach Chuck Pagano. But Colts owner Jim Irsay has not publicly supported Grigson or Pagano since the end of the season.

The Colts went 8-8, finished third in the AFC South and missed the playoffs for the second straight season.

Grigson, a first-time GM at the time of his hire, quickly made the Colts a winning team after replacing the fired Bill Polian in 2012. Grigson's first draft was highlighted by the selection of quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick. Grigson also selected tight ends Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener and Pro Bowl receiver T.Y. Hilton in that draft.

The Colts went 11-5 and reached the playoffs in 2012, and Grigson was named the NFL's Executive of the Year.

Indianapolis followed that up with two more 11-5 seasons that included back-to-back undefeated runs through the AFC South and an appearance in the AFC Championship Game.

But the Colts have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, including in 2015 when they believed they were good enough to make a run at the Super Bowl following the offseason additions of running back Frank Gore, receiver Andre Johnson and linebacker Trent Cole.

None of the players Grigson selected in the 2013 draft are currently on the roster. His 2013 free-agency class -- highlighted by linebacker Erik Walden, offensive linemen Gosder Cherilus and Donald Thomas, cornerback Greg Toler, and safety LaRon Landry?--?was a failure for the most part. Walden is the lone holdover, and he's headed into free agency.

Grigson didn't make a full commitment to improve the offensive line until the 2016 draft, when the Colts used half of their eight picks on offensive linemen. That commitment came only after Luck missed nine games due to injury in 2015.

There was a disconnect between Grigson and Pagano, as well as Grigson and the players. The coach and general manager's relationship was so strained that they barely talked during the 2015 season. Several current and former players said it felt like Grigson had no desire to develop a relationship with them, and multiple sources said Grigson's perceived arrogance rubbed many inside the organization the wrong way. But despite Grigson's flaws, Irsay gave him a contract extension in January 2016 because he felt like the general manager and Pagano could work out their differences.

In the wake of the news, some Colts players tweeted comments that many interpreted to be supportive of the firing, including punter Pat McAfee, who sources said had been fined by Grigson over things he had tweeted in the past.