Indianapolis Colts Football

RAYE FITS THE MOLD OF WHAT GRIGSON WANTED

Ryan Grigson had done his homework and was prepared.

Upon hearing the news that Tom Telesco was off to become the General Manager of the San Diego Chargers, Grigson already had his man on the forefront of his mind to fill a vital role in the Colts personnel department.

Jimmy Raye was named the Colts’ VP of Football Operations on Monday evening and spent his first full day at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center on Tuesday.

“We speak the same language when it comes to football players and what we like when we watch film,” Grigson said of Raye. “He’s going to be a very, very, important piece of the process and that’s why I’m so glad we have him here now.”

Grigson said Raye fits like a ‘glove’ with the Colts organization and he brings with him 18 years of NFL experience. For the last 17 years, Raye has been apart of the Chargers and served as the team’s director of player personnel from 2008-2012.

In the early stages of Tuesday afternoon, Grigson joked that he might have overwhelmed Raye in trying to get him caught up to speed with the offseason about to pick up pace.

“I think his head’s spinning a little bit right now because I’ve thrown so much at him,” Grigson said with a smile. “It hasn’t been half a day yet, but I think I’ve thrown about six months worth of information on him. He’s holding up pretty well so far. We’re really excited to have him here.”

Always planning for a ‘Doomsday’ scenario, Grigson knew that Telesco would be highly sought after following an 11-5 season when the roster turnover played such a critical role in the past year’s success.

Raye was the first name that popped into Grigson’s head when thinking of possible replacements for Telesco.

Just like Grigson, Raye is an ex-NFL player spending three seasons in the NFL (1991-1993) after playing at San Diego State University.

The bloodlines for Raye in the NFL are immense with his father coaching in the league for the past 35 seasons, currently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Grigson knows a bi-product of winning in the NFL causes for opposing teams to want to pluck personnel and coaches from your organization.

Raye now enters the fold in Indianapolis and his respect around the league extends beyond having a keen eye in the scouting department.

“If you polled 32 NFL teams, their scouting departments and just good football people in general, they’d all put (Raye) at the top of their lists in terms of being a football man and a quality human being,” Grigson said.