Ryan Grigson In Danger of Being Next NFL GM Fired

Jan 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson on the field before the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /

The Indianapolis Colts continue to find ways to lose, and with each defeat most can feel the heat rising under the chair of general manager Ryan Grigson.

This is a rumbling that has gotten steadily louder since the end of the 2014 season. The Colts were soundly defeated by a clearly superior New England Patriots team in the AFC championship. Expectations were that Grigson would put a couple more pieces in place for them to go after the Super Bowl. Instead many of his mistakes resurfaced at the worst possible time. Andrew Luck took a grievous pounding and by the halfway point of the season was out with a lacerated kidney and torn abdominal muscle.

Fast forward to 2016 and the problems haven’t gotten better. The offensive line continues to let Luck get beat up each week. Meanwhile some other questionable decisions have left the defense in pretty dire straits as well. Grigson doesn’t have a lot going for him at present. His best hope to avoid being fired is for Luck to lead the team out of the slump or for owner Jim Irsay to grant him more time to find solutions.

Former Colt and now analyst Reggie Wayne doesn’t believe either is possible. He feels Grigson could be on his way out and explained his reasoning on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access.

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"“I honestly think Andrew Luck’s playing pretty good, despite some of the O-line woes that they’re having,” Wayne said. “A lot of people are wanting to criticize Andrew Luck instead of really, in my opinion, going after what the big problem is. I think that big problem is a lot of the front office decisions. Whether it’s draft picks or it is free-agent picks, they’ve missed on a lot of guys.“They went in free agency they got LaRon Landry and got rid of Antoine Bethea who is a Pro Bowler; that was a swing and a miss. They had Arthur Jones who hasn’t found his way in there yet. You still have Trent Cole, who is now out, who hadn’t given them anything last year. You went and got his teammate Todd Herremans from Philly, also who didn’t give them anything. So they missed on so many guys and also picks in the draft. You have Bjoern Werner who is now out of the league. Khaled Holmes who was playing center from USC — he came and left. There were so many decisions that they made in there and they just missed. And don’t forget the Trent Richardson trade. They got rid of a first-round pick to bring in Trent Richardson who ended up not doing anything for them.”"

The review is not a rosy one for Grigson, particularly his misguided trade for Richardson. Though in fairness the Browns did just as little with the 1st round pick they got in return. In truth it’s going to be very hard for the Indianapolis Colts to justify keep him in the GM position if they finish with a losing record in 2016. That certainly is the direction they’re headed at 1-3. It would mark the first of Grigson’s reign and a clear indicator of decline from the team that was one step away from the Super Bowl two years ago.

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