Ryan Grigson admits mistakes during his five seasons as the Colts General Manager, including a relationship with head coach Chuck Pagano that turned so toxic that owner Jim Irsay hired counselors.
“What I really think that I wasn’t able to ever do in that time I was there was really get to be a human at times,” Grigson said on SiriusXM NFL Radio, via Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. “I hunkered down and just was laser-focused. I probably should have pressed pause and took some time to breathe for a second and communicate better to let people in more. I was only like that with my inner circle.”
Indianapolis went 52-34 with Grigson at the helm, but ultimately bad personnel decisions cost him his job. Grigson used first-round picks on Bjoern Werner and Phillip Dorsett; he signed Andre Johnson and Trent Cole as free agents; and he traded a first-round pick to Cleveland for Trent Richardson.
The Colts fired Grigson in January 2017.
Now that Grigson has done the job, he believes his on-the-job training will serve him well if he ever gets a second chance to call the shots for a team.
“I had to really learn that dynamic on the fly from those around me that had been with the prior regime,” Grigson said. “It was just kind of foreign to me even from the get-go. There were so many things to learn. A lot of that was done through trial and error.”