Why Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon is on sideline with headset during games

Carlie Irsay-Gordon isn't like most football owners.

The Indianapolis Colts leader spends games on the sideline in a headset.

Most owners stick to their suite and watch the game comfortably, but Irsay-Gordon instead finds herself in the heart of the action.

It's all by design, of course.

After the death of Jim Irsay in May, his daughter Carlie Irsay-Gordon took over the role of principal owner and CEO of the Colts.

She's embracing the role as co-owner with her sisters, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson.

Irsay-Gordon isn't calling plays down there. She just wants to know what's happening.

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Why is Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon wearing a headset on the sideline?

Carlie Irsay-Gordon started wearing a headset simply to begin to understand how things worked in the family business.

As time has gone on, she's realized how nicely it allows her to learn about the people who work for her.

"I think one of the things that I learned in going through, even as back as when we hired Chuck Pagano (in 2012), is that sort of accelerated my, 'I need to learn more about this,'" Irsay-Gordon told the Colts' official website. "'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 the question earlier, it's such a complex organism of football team and how it operates."

Irsay-Gordon follows along with a play sheet as the game goes along, too.

"You could say, 'Oh, that person ran that route wrong,'" Irsay-Gordon said. "When you learn to find, 'Oh, someone tagged the wrong wide receiver, and it wasn't really the player's fault – it was the person that called it.' I think that's been very valuable, because it also helps us be able to know where do we need to make tweaks, what resources do we need, what do we need to fix. So much of it comes down to just how we operate and how things work and the headsets – I would suggest it for anyone else that has to pay coaches and GMs millions and millions of dollars. It helps you make a less expensive mistake potentially."

Head coach Shane Steichen is often seen interacting with Irsay-Gordon at practice. He doesn't mind having her around.

"As far as football, she's around and she understands it," head coach Shane Steichen said last month. "When you talk football with her, she gets it. She understands it. She goes over the defensive stuff, the offensive stuff. She's been involved since I've been here from Day One, very hands on and she's been tremendous. I think she's going to do a phenomenal job."

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