Stephen Holder Oct 7, 2026, 06:00 AM ET Close INDIANAPOLIS -- The camera finds Carlie Irsay-Gordon. This becomes apparent during any Indianapolis Colts game telecast, when images of the team's primary owner are sure to be captured as she watches the action from the sideline. It's the fact that Irsay-Gordon is one of one: The only NFL owner known to routinely be stationed on the sideline during games while listening to a coach's headset communications and referencing a play sheet.
Irsay-Gordon's longtime practice predates her 2025 ascension to primary owner by several years. Still, it continues to be a subject of fascination -- and debate -- for many. But, according to team sources, don't expect it to change anytime soon. There has not been any discussion of a change to the practice, just as there is no expectation she'll stop attending the various position and staff meetings she routinely sits in.
She went on record long ago to explain why she is on the sideline. "I need to be able to say, 'Is this person full of B.S.? Do they even know what they're talking about?'" Irsay-Gordon said last year. All of this helps inform her day-to-day management of the team. It helps her, sources say, ask more probing questions during her respective weekly meetings with general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen.
Irsay-Gordon and her youngest sister, Kalen Jackson, took an active role in the team's extensive coaching search that produced Steichen's hiring on Feb. 14, 2023. To be clear, an owner listening to a coach's headset is atypical. Some coaches were said to be more mindful of what they might say into their headsets, knowing a member of ownership was listening in. Ultimately, though, it didn't prove problematic.
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing