Tip to BBS, Clark Judge talks to Jimmy Irsay
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.”
Also a promise for Manning to get signed this offseason
Manning’s current contract runs through 2010, but Irsay said he has no intention of letting Manning start next season without a new deal in place. In fact, he said he would like to have talks wrapped up by early next summer.
“We’ll be dealing with that undoubtedly in the offseason,” he said, “and it’s something to me that’s a given. It’s something that is going to get done. With him it’s such a unique situation: It always comes down to working it through when the time is right. He’s going to be part of us for his whole career, and I’d say at some point in the offseason we’ll start talking.
“I’d like to. The key thing is you don’t have to; the key thing is we would both like to. He would, and we would. That’s the nature of things in terms of always trying to get it done sooner rather than later.”
Manning last signed a contract in 2004, a $99.2 million deal that paid him what was then a league-record $14.5 million annually. The deal included a $34.5 million signing bonus, which was also an NFL record. Since then, Manning has won a Super Bowl, his third MVP award and taken the Colts to two 13-0 starts.
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