It's time for Jim Irsay to cede control of the Colts to his daughters

The man is sick. He is an addict. He is spiraling out of control -- again. The latest episode confirms it. Time to think long and hard about a change at the very top.

I’m not going to beat around the bush here.

It is time for Jim Irsay, who suffered a suspected overdose early last month at his Carmel home, to cede control of the Indianapolis Colts to his daughters.

This is not his first overdose, not even close, and as much as I hope that it’s his last, I know better. He is a very sick man, a man in the throes of addiction who is dealing with a disease that is often fatal and damned near was fatal back on Dec. 8. The cops and the paramedics found him fighting for breath, his skin a blue hue, cold to the touch, Irsay fighting for his life as medical professionals brought him back from the doorstep of death.  

More recently, the Colts, who have not publicly confirmed the overdose, have sent out press releases saying Irsay is dealing with a severe respiratory malady. Whether that was somehow related to the overdose, we don’t know.

If I was a praying sort, I would pray for Irsay. As it is, I genuinely wish him the best in his battle against this disease, both the addiction and the respiratory issue. We have always had a good relationship, even when I thought he was completely full of crap and he believed I was guilty of the same (which happened from time to time).

I don’t write this to be punitive.

I write this because the Indianapolis Colts are a quasi-public enterprise, the team and its owner significantly bankrolled (we’re talking roughly $800 million) by the citizens of our city and state. It just so happens that the man who runs the franchise, the man who signs off on any and all big decisions, is in the throes of addiction. And our city, our state, deserve to have an NFL caretaker who is capable of doing the job without ending up in rehab or the hospital – or, if things don’t change, the morgue.