Carlie Irsay-Gordon stepped in as the new owner of the Indianapolis Colts after her father, Jim Irsay, passed away. And what made her fall in love with football—aside from being born into the Colts family—is how the game never stays the same. It’s always evolving. Just like this Indianapolis team has this season.

Through eight weeks, the Colts with Daniel Jones under center have been nothing short of consistent, sitting among the league’s best. Sure, the whole team deserves the credit. But some of it definitely goes to Irsay-Gordon, who’s been a steady presence on the sidelines all season. And with her there, Indy’s sitting pretty at 7-1.

But the job is far from over, even though the Colts sit pretty high at 7-1. You’ll still spot Irsay-Gordon on the sidelines, headset on, notebook in hand. She’s constantly asking questions, soaking up details, and diving deep into the X’s and O’s of football. Always learning, always evolving.

“I need to learn more about this,” Irsay-Gordon said. “I need to be able to say, is this person full of BS? Do they even know what they’re talking about? And I think one of the things that being on the headset has really helped me learn is, to question earlier, it’s such a complex organism of football team and how it operates.

“And on game day, and you could say, ‘oh that person ran that route wrong,’ when you learn to find someone tagged the wrong wide receiver, and it wasn’t really the player’s fault. It was the person that I called it. I think that’s been very valuable because it also helps us to be able to know where do we need to make tweaks. What resources do we need? What do we need to fix?”

Under new ownership, the Colts ranked No. 1 in points per game in the league (33.8 PPG) and total yards per game (about 385.3 yards/G). On the defensive side of the ball, the Colts allowed 19.3 points per game and roughly allowed 345.1 yards per game.

It’s not exactly elite, sure. But it’s been more than good enough to snag seven wins in eight games to become the top team in the league. And you can bet the new ownership’s getting plenty of credit for keeping this team locked in and rolling.

Carlie Irsay-Gordon gets appreciation for her sideline role

Carlie Irsay-Gordon has managed to turn heads as the new principal owner of the Colts, which caught Cam Newton’s eye. The former NFL quarterback recently addressed the Colts’ ownership and praised Irsay-Gordan for her sideline role.

“She is making her presence felt and it’s leading to wins,” the NFL legend said on his 4th and 1 podcast. “She’s doing something right and it’s extremely commendable. It raises eyebrows and the thought process in here. Do we need more women in sports? Because what they provide is something that most men would overlook.”

And you can surely bet that she’s making her presence felt, as Newton pointed out. One fan wrote, “She taking notes! Gotta love it!” It’s a simple comment that perfectly sums up how fans are buying into her hands-on approach. Another chimed in and added, “She has always been on the sideline sand she also sits in meetings. She the best.” And clearly, she’s been doing the homework long before the wins started piling up, and fans are finally seeing that effort translate into results.

Another user joined the conversation and wrote, “Knowing whats going on and understanding the why is so important!” And that’s exactly what Carlie Irsay-Gordon represents. She’s not just watching plays unfold; she’s trying to decode the reasoning behind them.

And perhaps the best summary came from a fan who said, “True leader. Love to see it. She’s gonna inspire many 💯.” While the season is just eight weeks old, it’s the sentiment echoing across the fanbase right now. The Colts have gotten a great start under new ownership and a new quarterback. We’ll see if they manage to end it on a high note.