Indianapolis Colts GM Ryan Grigson entered this offseason with one thing on his mind - bringing the Colts franchise to a Super Bowl victory next season.
Of course, that's not any different from any of the NFL's other general managers and head coaches, but Grigson's desire and subsequent offseason additions apparently came as a direct result of a very pointed message from embattled Indianapolis team owner, Jim Irsay.
"The directive I get from my owner (Jim Irsay) -- and all of the motivation driving my decisions -- is to win it all," Grigson said, per Michael Silver of NFL.com. "He wants to win the Super Bowl, and that is my mission. That's why I'll keep searching for players, whether it's a big-name free agent or a guy from the CFL or some small college. I'll be looking under every rock, and trying to find a way to make us better.
"And maybe you try that much harder when you still have that 45-7 taste in your mouth."
That bitter taste, of course, was left by the absolute shellacking the New England Patriots laid on Grigson's Colts in last year's AFC Championship Game en route to their fourth Lombardi Trophy in head coach Bill Belichick's tenure.
The Colts meanwhile have struggled to adequately fill the empty spaces around franchise signal-caller Andrew Luck - though T.Y. Hilton, Dwayne Allen and Coby Fleener are a start - most importantly at running back, and replace the losses of certain aging veterans on defense.
For Grigson, watching his team make it as far as they did just to be outclassed so thoroughly by the Patriots coupled with the mandate from Irsay led to an offseason that saw the Colts add Hall of Fame running back Frank Gore, Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson, and former Philadelphia Pro Bowlers, Trent Cole and Todd Herremans - despite the fact that each player is well beyond Grigson's one-time age-limit of 30.
"I didn't want anyone over 28. And then last year, I told (safety) Mike Adams, who was playing well for us, 'You know what? We might need to start signing everybody who's over 33.' I kinda got worn down by some of the youth -- some of the knuckleheads who weren't all in, who don't make the commitment," Grigson said. "You get tired of it. Those are the guys who are gonna bring the team down. We've had guys we've had to get rid of, because they weren't with the program. You know that saying, 'People fire themselves'? It's the same thing with football teams."
Grigson admitted that his reliance on youth over age and the ill-fated decision to ship a first-round draft pick to the Cleveland Browns for running back Trent Richardson still bothers him, but he's done his best to move forward despite an imperfect track record.
"Yeah, you beat yourself up," Grigson conceded. "You put the organization in a bad position. But it won't make us gun-shy, I promise you that."
What Grigson wanted the most this offseason - and what he's seemingly gotten - is a team built, not only to play fast and score points, but tough and hard-nosed enough to hang with the NFL's bullies when the situation calls for it.
"Teams have (outmuscled us) repeatedly, and it's a hard pill to swallow," Grigson said. "We need to go into these backyard brawls and be able to step up to that challenge -- and I need to be able to find players who will step up to that challenge."
Grigson firmly believes that his change in mindset this offseason will be directly reflected in the team's results next year.
"Trent, Gore, Johnson -- they know that mindset. They know that window's closing for them, and they're not gonna put up with much BS from young guys who don't quite get it. And they'll bring a vibe that permeates through every orifice of our organization: 'We're going to the mountaintop, and if you don't get on board, you're gonna get left behind.' "
