Indianapolis Colts principal owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon stands on the sideline during games, wearing a headset and taking notes. She has done it since at least 2020, and former head coach Frank Reich encouraged her to keep it up. She can hear the coaches' channel but can't talk on it. ESPN says no other NFL owner is known to routinely do this. She took over the team after her father, Jim Irsay, died in May 2025. Around Sunday's 30-13 win over Washington in London, a video of her questioning an assistant coach spread online. The backlash followed. ESPN reports the clip was shot before the game, not during it. On Monday she answered the latest criticism in an interview with Front Office Sports.

Her Sideline Routine Is Performative

Critics say an owner taking notes on the sideline is just for show.

A popular podcaster called it "nuts." Bill Simmons, founder of The Ringer, said on his podcast that an owner taking notes on the sideline is "f---ing nuts." He said people would mock a male owner who did the same thing. He added that even Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wouldn't do it.

Another critic says gender has nothing to do with it. Podcast host Ryen Russillo said people might claim he only objects because she's a woman. He called that "total bullshit." He pointed out that Boston fans mocked Patriots owner Robert Kraft for years for bringing a stopwatch to a workout.

Critics want to know what she's writing down. Russillo called the routine "very performative" in September, after the Colts started 0-2. He asked her to say what she's actually evaluating in those notes. Quarterback coach Quincy Avery wrote online that it "seems very performative," even though he knows she already goes to team meetings.

And Game Day Is The Wrong Time To Learn

Some analysts say even an owner who means well takes up gear and space the coaches need.

She uses a headset the coaches need. Football analyst Nate Tice said teams only get a limited number of coaching headsets, so hers takes one away from the staff. He added that even people who know football struggle to follow play calls in real time. On Russillo's show, he and Russillo ended by agreeing: "I hate owners on the sideline."

She could listen from upstairs instead. Breitbart sports writer Dylan Gwinn agreed that wanting to learn is good. He wrote that she could hear the same calls from the coaches' box upstairs. He said questioning coaches there would be far less disruptive than doing it on the sideline.

But She's Learning, And The Team Is Fine With It

Irsay-Gordon and her players say listening in makes her a better owner, and nobody on the team minds.

She admits she's still learning the game. "I like to say on a good day I have like a fifth-grade reading level understanding of the game," Irsay-Gordon told Front Office Sports' Bridget Condon. She said good leaders listen so they understand, and the best teams work that way. She has said before that she listens so she can tell whether someone knows what they're talking about.

Her players and coaches say it's normal to them. Tight end Mo Alie-Cox said it doesn't bother anyone on the team, and he doesn't know why it bothers people outside it. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter told ESPN she can learn a lot from what coaches say on the headsets. According to ESPN, head coach Shane Steichen says she is not an active participant on game day. Quarterback Daniel Jones praised her attention to detail last season.

She says she worried most about being a distraction. She told ESPN that staying out of the way was her biggest concern when she took over. She said she still has a lot to learn.

Where This Lands

Simmons calls her sideline routine nuts, and Russillo and Avery call it performative. Simmons says people would mock a male owner for it, while Russillo says gender has nothing to do with it. Tice says she takes a headset the coaches need, and Gwinn wants her upstairs. Irsay-Gordon says she listens so she can learn the game and judge her staff. Her players and coaches say it doesn't bother them. ESPN reports she'll be in her usual spot on the sideline Sunday.

Sources