On the surface it’s a dull story… Indianapolis Colts lure Eagles personnel management dude to a bigger office suite with a better view of downtown…
But it gets better.
Ryan Grigson, former player personnel manager of the Eagles, is now the General Manager of the Indianapolis Colts…
Grigson, 39, replaces Bill Polian, who was fired last week.
Grigson spent the past two seasons as the Eagles’ director of player personnel after serving four seasons as the Eagles’ director of college scouting. He first joined the team in 2003 as a regional scout.
“Although we will miss Ryan personally and professionally, we could not be happier for him,” Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Wednesday in a statement. “He has been a great advisor to me and somebody I have leaned on to bounce ideas off many times over my career. He leaves no stone left unturned in his efforts to find good players and we were lucky to have him here in Philadelphia.”
Grigson’s departure leaves director of pro personnel Louis Riddick as the highest-ranking Eagles personnel executive behind coach Andy Reid and Roseman.
In his playing career Grigson was a tight end and an offensive tackle.
Ryan Grigson’s time as an NFL player was short, but it made an impression.
“I’d be in meetings and (Cincinnati Bengals assistant coach Paul Alexander would) ask about a player, and he might be from a small school, and I always had an answer for him,” Grigson said.
“Even in college, I used to take the media guides from the coaches, even before I probably should have. … When I got this job, all my buddies were reaching out to me, ‘Maybe now you’re not so crazy for all that information you were into back then.’ Because they kind of thought it was quirky, but it’s what I love.”
“This job” is now General Manager of the Colts. Grigson, a Highland, Indiana native who played college football at Purdue, was named to replace the fired Bill Polian on Wednesday.
“I picked Ryan because I felt he had a vision, he had an intelligence, he had a depth of perception and awareness, that he was capable of taking it up to the next level,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said.
Irsay noted the success former offensive linemen have had in coaching and front office positions in the NFL, including the likes of Hall of Famers George Young and Gene Upshaw.
Grigson didn’t have a pro playing career close to Upshaw’s — a 1995 sixth-round draft pick by the Bengals, Grigson was cut after training camp but spent that season and the next with the Detroit Lions, although he never took a regular-season snap.
In 1997, he was with the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL when a back injury forced him to retire. It was the second major injury of Grigson’s college and pro career; as a freshman at Purdue, he took a blow to the abdomen in a game against Minnesota that resulted in pancreatitis, kidney failure and pneumonia.
Grigson was a pro scout for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1998 while also serving as an assistant coach at McPherson College in Kansas. He would serve as player personnel coordinator and assistant coach with the Buffalo Destroyers of the Arena Football League in 1999 before returning to the NFL as a scout for the St. Louis Rams.
He didn’t get back into the NFL to “make a few bucks,” he said. It was all about his love for football.
Grigson was a scout for the Rams from 1999 through 2002, before joining the Philadelphia Eagles as a regional scout. He was promoted to director of college scouting in 2006 and to director of player personnel in 2010.
Among the draft picks he helped bring to Philadelphia: Pro Bowl picks, running back LeSean McCoy and receiver DeSean Jackson.
He also helped put together the Eagles’ most recent roster of high-priced free agents that failed to reach the playoffs this season. He said it’s too soon to determine whether his philosophy as Colts’ GM will lean more toward flashy free agent signings or Indy’s traditional method of developing young talent.
Grigson hasn’t even had a chance yet to talk to Colts QB Peyton Manning, although the new GM did speak to head coach Jim Caldwell on Wednesday morning. A decision on Caldwell’s future won’t be made anytime soon, either, according to Grigson and Irsay.
“What I’m going to do, as soon as I go home and get some clothes and get a home-cooked meal and all those sorts of things — I’m used to being on the road, but you don’t carry suits when you’re on the road scouting — I need to lock myself in my office with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on the door and knock it out and know exactly what I have before I can speak about players with Mr. Irsay,” Grigson said.
“I’ve been on teams before where guys were run out simply for the sake of running them out. … If there’s talent or there’s someone who’s productive or good at what they do, to me that makes no sense (to run them out). … I like to salvage things. If there’s ability, why get rid of it, if it’s going to help us get to where we want to go?”
For a Colts team that went 2-14 last season, there’s nowhere to go but up. And for Grigson, he said he feels blessed to not only have an opportunity to build the Colts back into an NFL power, but to do so in his home state.
“I was born in this state, raised in this state, went to college in this state and met my wife in this state,” he said. “I spent most of my life in this state and learned to play football in this state.
“That’s comforting knowing that I’m going to be embarking on this opportunity and challenge with (Indiana) as a backdrop.”
Here’s the Philly rub, however— If Grigson opts to fire Caldwell, he could reach out to Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. ESPN, the NFL Network and Indianapolis Star have all mentioned Mornhinweg as a candidate to coach the Colts.
Mornhinweg, who just finished his ninth season as an Eagles’ assistant, is widely respected throughout the NFL for his offensive philosophy and his background with developing young quarterbacks. Under his charge, the Eagles’ offense set franchise scoring records three consecutive seasons from 2008-2010. This season, they ranked third in the NFL in total offense while setting team marks for yardage (6,386) and first downs (134).
Mornhinweg also previously served as an assistant in Green Bay and San Francisco prior to a two-year stint as Detroit’s head coach in 2001-02. While with the Packers and 49ers, he worked with Brett Favre, Steve Young and Jeff Garcia. Upon joining the Eagles in 2003, he helped Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia, Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick.
The Colts are expected to use the No. 1 overall pick on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, and decide whether to keep Peyton Manning for a few more years or trade him.
Grigson’s departure leaves director of pro personnel Louis Riddick as the highest-ranking Eagles personnel executive behind coach Andy Reid and Roseman.
And….if Mornhinweg leaves to join Grigson, there is a possibility that Brad Childress could rejoin the Eagles as offensive coordinator.
I leave you with these words from Greg Gabriel of NFL Post.com—-
“Grigson might not have a name that is known nationally in the media but in the scouting world he is known well. He has done it the right way and paid his dues so to speak. He has worked as a scout in the Canadian League and the Arena League before he joined the Rams first as a combine scout and then an area scout. He has been with the Eagles the last nine years as a scout then as Director of College Scouting and finally Director of Player Personnel.”
“I scouted Grigson while he was in college and he was a solid NFL prospect as an offensive tackle at Purdue. He was drafted by the Bengals and played for both them and the Lions in 1995-1996. He then spent some time with Toronto in the CFL before retiring because of a back injury. I have known him as a scout since he came into the league with the Rams. I have always been impressed with how he handled himself on the road and at All-Star games. I have had numerous conversations about players with him and to say that he knows what he is talking about is an understatement.”
“What impressed me even more is his passion for football and his job. He is very enthusiastic but at the same time comes across strong with his opinions. The Colts did an excellent job by hiring him. I can compare this hire to the Falcons hiring Thomas Dimitroff in 2008. He was another person who didn’t have a national name but was well respected in the scouting community. And we have all seen the job Dimitroff has done in Atlanta.”
“I have said for a long time that the biggest names are not always the best names. There are many very capable personnel people working in the NFL who can do outstanding jobs if they are just given the chance. This was an excellent hire by the Colts and their future looks bright.”
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