Stephen A. Smith Slams Colts Owner for Sideline “Parading

Stephen A. Smith Rips Colts Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon's Sideline Behavior

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith unleashed a blistering rant against Indianapolis Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon during Wednesday's edition of First Take.

The target was not the team's 2-6 record.

The target was not head coach Shane Steichen.

The target was not quarterback Daniel Jones.

The target was the owner herself — and her habit of roaming the sideline during games.

Smith made his remarks while previewing the Colts' Week 9 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys alongside former Colts center and interim head coach Jeff Saturday.

The segment quickly turned into a 90-second monologue.

"I don't give a damn how bad the Dallas Cowboys are," Smith said.

"They ain't worse than the Indianapolis Colts."

"Let's get that out the way."

"The Indianapolis Colts are a mess."

"They've been a mess."

Smith then turned his attention to Irsay-Gordon, who inherited the team after her father, longtime owner Jim Irsay, passed away.

She has been a fixture on the Colts sideline on game days for years.

Smith said he did not mind that she walks the sideline.

What he objected to was the lack of action behind it.

"I didn't mind her parading up and down the sidelines," Smith said.

"That's what she does."

"My whole point is, what the hell you doing that for if you ain't gonna do nothing about the product you're seeing?"

"What you on the sideline for?"

"You just sightseeing?"

"Do something!"

"Get rid of somebody!"

"Make a change!"

"Send a message that you're moving in a different direction."

Saturday pushed back.

He reminded Smith that Irsay-Gordon had already fired general manager Chris Ballard just a few weeks earlier.

Ballard was dismissed after a Week 6 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans.

"She just fired a guy!" Saturday said.

"She fired somebody."

"She did do something."

Smith was not satisfied.

He demanded the Colts fire head coach Shane Steichen as well.

"Why the coach there?" Smith pressed.

"What's he there for?"

"Stop."

"Don't wait."

"Stop it."

"You ain't going nowhere."

"Let the people of Indianapolis know you moving in a different direction."

The Colts are in their first season without a permanent general manager since 2016.

Ballard was fired after 10 seasons in which the Colts never won the AFC South.

Every other team in the division won it at least twice during that span.

The Colts have lost four straight games since their last win.

They fell to the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-7 in Week 8.

That loss followed defeats to the Minnesota Vikings and the Titans.

The team is reportedly in trade talks involving multiple players.

Running back Jonathan Taylor is among those whose name has surfaced in rumors.

The Colts also traded perennial All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and star defensive lineman DeForest Buckner ahead of the deadline.

More moves could follow.

The roster is in a difficult position for the near future.

The team gave quarterback Daniel Jones a lucrative contract extension after he tore his Achilles.

Jones has thrown for 1,542 yards and five touchdowns in 2026.

He has also thrown nine interceptions.

The Colts traded two first-round picks for cornerback Sauce Gardner in a blockbuster deal last season.

That trade has not paid off as the team hoped.

With no first-round pick in the 2027 draft and a quarterback who cannot be cut easily, the Colts face a long rebuild.

Smith also took aim at the city of Indianapolis itself.

"The only thing about Indy nowadays, you understand, is the Pat McAfee Show," Smith said.

"That's about it."

"Ain't nothing else good about Indianapolis."

He then addressed Saturday directly.

"Just sit back and take it, Jeff," Smith said.

Smith argued that Irsay-Gordon cannot escape blame for the team's sustained mediocrity.

"You can't defend what this organization has been," Smith said.

"You can't defend this owner."

Irsay-Gordon has been a visible presence on the sideline for a decade.

She has been known to listen in on play calls and take notes during games.

No other NFL owner regularly patrols the sideline the way she does.

Smith's criticism is that visibility without results is meaningless.

He said the owner should either get more involved in fixing the team or stay away.

Saturday tried to defend the organization's direction.

He pointed out that a new general manager search is underway.

Former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has been linked to the opening.

Smith was not impressed.

He argued that firing Ballard was overdue and that Steichen should follow.

"Assuming the Colts do fire Steichen at the end of the year," one report noted, "they will have to convince both a new general manager and a new head coach to take the job with an uncuttable quarterback, a depleted roster and no first-round draft pick to work with."

The Colts host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9.

Dallas is 3-5 and has one of the worst defenses in the league.

Smith said even the struggling Cowboys are better than the Colts.

The rant has drawn attention across sports media.

Yahoo Sports, Awful Announcing, Pro Football Network and The Mirror US all covered Smith's comments.

The criticism of an NFL owner on a major platform is unusual.

Owners are rarely called out by name for on-field performance.