Jim Irsay era (1997–2025)
Along with the disappointing season, the principal owner and man who moved the team to Indianapolis, Robert Irsay, died in January 1997 after years of declining health. Jim Irsay, Robert Irsay's son, entered the role of principal owner after his father's death and quickly began to change the organization. Irsay replaced general manager Tobin with Bill Polian in 1997 as the team decided to build through their number one overall pick in the 1998 draft.
Jim Irsay began to shape the Colts one year after assuming control from his father by firing head coach Lindy Infante and hiring Bill Polian as the general manager of the organization. Polian in turn hired Jim E. Mora to become the next head coach of the team and drafted Tennessee Volunteer quarterback Peyton Manning, the son of New Orleans Saints legend Archie Manning, with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL draft.
The team and Manning struggled during the 1998 season, winning only three games; Manning threw a league high 28 interceptions. However, Manning did pass for 3,739 yards and threw 26 touchdown passes and was named to the NFL All-Rookie First Team. The Colts began to improve towards the end of the 1998 season and showed continued growth in 1999. Indianapolis drafted Edgerrin James in 1999 and continued to improve their roster heading into the upcoming season. The Colts went 13–3 in 1999 and finished first in the AFC East, their first division title since 1987. Indianapolis lost to the eventual AFC champion Tennessee Titans in the divisional playoffs.
The 2000 and 2001 Colts teams were considerably less successful compared to the 1999 team. The 2000 team went 10–6 and had their season end in the Wild Card Round with an overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins. Pressure began to mount on team administration and the coaching staff after a 6–10 season in 2001.
Mora was fired at the end of the season and was replaced by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy. Dungy and the team quickly changed the atmosphere of the organization and returned to the playoffs in 2002 with a 10–6 record, only for them to get shut out in the 2002 Wild Card Round to the New York Jets. The Colts also returned to the playoffs in 2003 and 2004 with 12–4 records and AFC South championships. The Colts lost to the New England Patriots and Tom Brady in the 2003 AFC Championship Game and in the 2004 divisional playoffs, thereby beginning a rivalry between the two teams, and between Manning and Brady. After two consecutive playoff losses to the Patriots, the Colts began the 2005 season with a 13–0 record, including a regular season victory over the Patriots, the first in the Manning era. During the season, Manning and Marvin Harrison broke the NFL record for touchdowns by a quarterback and receiver tandem. Indianapolis finished the 2005 season with a 14–2 record, the best record in the league that year and the best in a 16 games season for the franchise, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round.
Indianapolis entered the 2006 season with a veteran quarterback, receivers, and defenders, and chose running back Joseph Addai in the 2006 draft. As in the previous season, the Colts began the season undefeated and went 9–0 before losing their first game against the Dallas Cowboys. Indianapolis finished the season with a 12–4 record and entered the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year, this time as the number three seed in the AFC. The Colts won their first two playoff games against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens to return to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since the 2003 playoffs, where they faced their rivals, the New England Patriots. In a classic game, the Colts overcame a 21–3 first-half deficit to win the game 38–34 and earned a trip to Super Bowl XLI, the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since 1970 and for the first based in Indianapolis. The Colts faced the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, winning the game 29–17 and giving Manning, Polian, Irsay, and Dungy, as well as the city of Indianapolis, their first Super Bowl title.
The Colts compiled a 13–3 record during the 2007 season; they lost to the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoffs, in what was the final game the Colts played at the RCA Dome before moving into Lucas Oil Stadium in 2008. The 2008 season began with Manning being sidelined for most of the pre-season due to surgery. Indianapolis began the season with a 3–4 record, but then won nine consecutive games to end the season at 12–4 and make in into the playoffs as a wild card team, eventually losing to the Chargers in the wild card round. After the season, Tony Dungy announced his retirement after seven seasons as head coach, having compiled an overall record of 92–33 with the team.
Jim Caldwell was hired as head coach of the team after Dungy, and led the team during the 2009 season. The Colts went 14–0 during the season to finish with a record of 14–2 after controversially benching their starters during the last two games. The Colts for the second time in the Manning era entered the playoffs with the best record in the AFC. The Colts managed victories over the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets to advance to Super Bowl XLIV against the New Orleans Saints, but lost to the Saints 31–17.
At the completion of the 2009 season, the Colts had finished the first decade of the 2000s (2000–2009) with the most regular-season wins (115) and highest winning percentage (.719) of any team in the NFL during that span.
The 2010 team compiled a 10–6 record, the first time the Colts did not win 12 games since 2002, and lost to the New York Jets in the wild card round of the playoffs. The loss to the Jets was the last game for Peyton Manning as a Colt.
After missing the preseason, Manning was ruled out for the Colts' opening game in Houston and eventually the entire 2011 season. Taking over as starter was veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, who had been signed to the team after dissatisfaction with backup quarterback Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky. However, even with a veteran quarterback, the Colts lost their first 13 games and finished the season with a 2–14 record, enough to receive the first overall pick in the 2012 draft. Immediately after the season, team president Bill Polian was fired, ending his 14-year tenure with the team. The change built the anticipation of the organization's decision regarding Manning's future with the team. The Peyton Manning era came to an end on March 8, 2012, when Jim Irsay announced that Manning was being released from the roster after 13 seasons.
During the 2012 off-season owner Jim Irsay hired Ryan Grigson to be the General Manager. Grigson decided to let head coach Jim Caldwell go and Chuck Pagano was hired as the new head coach shortly thereafter. The Colts also began to release some higher paid and oft-injured veteran players, including Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark, and Gary Brackett. The Colts used their number one overall draft pick in 2012 to draft Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck and also drafted his teammate Coby Fleener in the second round. The team also switched to a 3–4 defensive scheme.
With productive seasons from both Luck and veteran receiver Reggie Wayne, the Colts rebounded from the 2–14 season of 2011 with a 2012 season record of 11–5. The franchise, team, and fan base rallied behind head coach Chuck Pagano during his fight with leukemia. Clinching an unexpected playoff spot in the 2012–13 NFL playoffs, the 14th playoff berth for the club since 1995. The season ended in a 24–9 playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.
Two weeks into the 2013 season, the Colts traded their first-round selection in the 2014 NFL draft to the Cleveland Browns for running back Trent Richardson. In Week 7, Luck led the Colts to a 39–33 win over his predecessor, Peyton Manning, and the undefeated Broncos. Luck went on to lead the Colts to a 15th division championship later that season. In the first round of the 2013 NFL playoffs, Andrew Luck led the Colts to a 45–44 victory over Kansas City, outscoring the Chiefs 35–13 in the second half in the second biggest comeback in NFL playoff history.
During the 2014 season, Luck led the Colts to the AFC Championship game for the first time in his career after breaking the Colts' single-season passing yardage record previously held by Manning.
After the Colts finished 8–8 in both the 2015 and 2016 seasons and missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1997–98, Grigson was fired as general manager. Just three of his previous 18 draft picks remained on the team at the time of his firing. On January 30, 2017, the team hired Chris Ballard, who served as the Kansas City Chiefs Director of Football Operations, to replace Grigson.
On December 31, 2017, after winning the final game of the season and a final record of 4–12, the Colts parted ways with Pagano. Luck, who had suffered multiple injuries and missed nine games during the 2015 season, sat out the entire 2017 season recovering from shoulder surgery.
In the weeks following the end of the 2017 season, after two interviews, it was widely reported that the Colts would hire Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, to replace Pagano, after McDaniels fulfilled his obligations to the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. On February 8, 2018, the Colts announced McDaniels as their new head coach. Hours later, however, McDaniels rescinded his decision to be the head coach, and he returned to the Patriots.
On February 11, 2018, the Colts announced Frank Reich, then offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, as their new head coach. In Reich's first season as head coach, Andrew Luck's return to the field got off to a shaky start, as the Colts began the 2018 season 1–5. However, they surged back to win nine of their last ten games to secure a 10–6 record and a playoff berth. They won a wild card game against their division rival Houston Texans before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. Luck, benefiting from the Colts' best offensive line of his career, was named the 2018 Comeback Player of the Year.
Colts General Manager Chris Ballard achieved a historic feat in 2018 when two players he had drafted that year, guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Shaquille Leonard were both named First-Team All-Pro. This was the first time two rookies from the same team received that honor since Hall-of-Famers Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers achieved the feat in 1965.
On August 24, 2019, Luck informed the Colts that he would be retiring from the NFL after not attending training camp. He cited an unfulfilling cycle of injury and rehab as his primary reason for leaving football.
On November 17, 2019, the Colts defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars for the team's 300th win in the Indianapolis era, with a record of 300–267. Despite a promising 5–2 start and strong seasons from Leonard, Nelson, and newly acquired defensive end Justin Houston, the Colts struggled in the second half of the 2019 season with new starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett at the helm and finished the year with a 7–9 record.
On March 17, 2020, the Colts signed longtime Los Angeles Chargers quarterback and eight-time Pro Bowler Philip Rivers to a one-year deal worth $25 million. Rivers led the Colts to an 11–5 record and a playoff berth, where they then lost to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round of the NFL's first expanded playoffs.
On March 17, 2021, the Colts traded a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 second-round conditional pick for former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Despite an All-Pro season from running back Jonathan Taylor, the Colts finished the season 9–8 after an upset loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that eliminated the Colts from playoff contention. The Colts then traded Wentz and a second-round pick to the Washington Commanders in exchange for three draft picks.
On March 21, 2022, the Colts traded a 2022 third-round pick for longtime Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. After playing seven games in which he threw for nine touchdowns and nine interceptions, while also fumbling 11 times, Ryan was benched for the remainder of the season in favor of Sam Ehlinger.
On November 7, 2022, the Colts fired Reich as head coach the day after losing by 23 points to the New England Patriots to continue a disappointing 3–5–1 start. Longtime Colts center Jeff Saturday was subsequently named the interim head coach. Under Saturday, the Colts went 1–7, and overall, the Colts finished the 2022 season with a record of 4–12–1, their lowest win total since 2017.
Coming off their lowest win total since 2017, the Colts decided not to retain interim head coach Jeff Saturday and on February 14, 2023, they hired Shane Steichen as their new head coach. Later in the offseason, the Colts released quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Nick Foles. The Colts would go on to select Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL draft. In free agency, the Colts signed quarterback Gardner Minshew and kicker Matt Gay.
On October 18, 2023, the Colts announced that Richardson would miss the remainder of the season with a Grade 3 AC joint sprain. On October 24, 2023, he successfully underwent shoulder surgery to repair the sprain. Backup quarterback Minshew was named by Steichen as the starter during Richardson's absence. During the 2023 NFL season, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. broke the Colts franchise record for the most receptions in the first four years of a player's career. Despite many injuries, including to Richardson and All-Pro running back Jonathan Taylor, the 2023 Colts rebounded from their 4–12–1 record in 2022, finishing 9–8 and narrowly missing the playoffs with a loss to the Houston Texans in the season finale. In 2024, On April 25, 2024, the Colts selected UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu with the 15th pick in the 2024 NFL draft. In 2024, the Colts failed to improve on their 9–8 record and were eliminated from the playoffs by a week-17 loss to the New York Giants, finishing 8–9.
