Ryan Grigson (born February 23, 1972) is an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
executive who is the senior vice president of player personnel for the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL).. From 2012 to 2016, he served as the
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
.
Grigson played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
as a
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
and
offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
for the
Purdue Boilermakers
The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...
and was drafted by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
in the sixth round of the
1995 NFL Draft
The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...
. He was a member of the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
from
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
to
1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...
, and played for the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
before he retired due to a back injury. Grigson was a pro scout for the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
and an assistant coach for
McPherson College
McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
History
During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...
in 1998. In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, he was a player personnel coordinator and assistant coach for the
Buffalo Destroyers
Buffalo most commonly refers to:
* Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo
* Bison, including the American buffalo
* Buffalo, New York
Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to:
Animals
* Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
.
From
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
to
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, Grigson was a national and regional scout for the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
. He was hired by the Eagles as a western regional scout in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, and was promoted to director of college scouting in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
. He was promoted to director of player personnel in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
. He also has worked with the Seattle Seahawks and
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
.
Playing career
College
Grigson signed his letter of intent to play
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Purdue Boilermakers
The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...
in 1990, where he would play from 1990 to 1994.
On October 10, 1992, in a game against
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, Grigson was hit in the abdomen by a defender and sustained a life-threatening injury. He was hospitalized immediately after and the blow resulted in pancreatitis, kidney failure and pneumonia.
He missed the rest of the season, likely to never play again, after becoming a starter during his sophomore year.
Grigson returned for the 1993 season, started ten games and was named one of three captains, along with
Mike Alstott
Michael Joseph Alstott (born December 21, 1973), is a former American football fullback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nicknamed "A-Train", he played college football at Purdue an ...
and Matt Kingsbury, for the 1994 season (Purdue's first winning season in a decade).
Professional
Grigson was drafted by the
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
in the sixth round (175th overall) of the
1995 NFL Draft
The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Th ...
. He was signed to a contract by the Bengals on June 10, 1995, but was waived during final cuts on August 28. He was signed by the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
shortly thereafter and spent the
1995 season with the team. He was released by the Lions on August 14, 1996. He played for the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
of the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
in
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
before he suffered a career-ending back injury and was forced to retire.
Executive and coaching career
Early career
Following his retirement from playing, Grigson became a pro scout for the
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
. In the same year, he was an assistant coach for
McPherson College
McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
History
During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...
's football team. In
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, he was a player personnel coordinator and assistant coach for the
Buffalo Destroyers
Buffalo most commonly refers to:
* Bubalina, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo
* Bison, including the American buffalo
* Buffalo, New York
Buffalo or buffaloes may also refer to:
Animals
* Bubalina, a subtribe of the tr ...
of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
.
National Football League
Grigson was hired by the
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994.
The arri ...
as a national scout in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
. He was part of the Rams'
Super Bowl XXXIV
Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 NFL season, 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champ ...
championship team in 1999 and the Rams' NFC Championship/
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
team in 2001 as an area scout.
On May 15, 2004, Grigson was hired by the
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...
as a western regional scout. He was a part of the Eagles' NFC Championship/
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...
team in 2004. On June 8, 2006, he was promoted to director of college scouting,
and on February 3, 2010, he was promoted to director of player personnel.
Indianapolis Colts
Grigson was hired by the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
as their
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
on January 11, 2012, inheriting a 2-14 team from the year before. After the 2012 season, which put the Colts back in the NFL Playoffs with an 11–5 record, the nine win improvement from the previous year tied the third largest improvement in league history.
Thanks to this turnaround, which included changing 70% of the roster,
Grigson earned Executive of the Year honors from the Sporting News and Pro Football Weekly. He also won the 2013 Drew Brees Mental Toughness Award from the Northwest Indiana Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
On September 18, 2013, Ryan Grigson traded a
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
first-round draft pick for
Trent Richardson
Trenton Jamond Richardson (born July 10, 1990) is an American football running back for the Caudillos de Chihuahua of Fútbol Americano de México. He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American, and ...
. The Colts were looking for a running back after a season-ending injury to
Vick Ballard
Vick Ballard (born July 16, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Mississippi State, and was selected by the Indianapolis Colts 170th overall in the 2012 NFL Draft.
College career
Ballard attended Missis ...
. Richardson was released following the 2014 NFL season.
On January 11, 2015—Grigson's third anniversary with the team—the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
beat the Denver Broncos to qualify for the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. During the AFC championship, he asked NFL officials to check the Patriots' balls, which set in motion the "
Deflategate
Deflategate was a National Football League (NFL) controversy involving the allegation that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ordered the deliberate deflation of footballs used in the Patriots' victory against the Indianapolis Colts d ...
" scandal. The Colts lost the game 45–7.
The Colts, who struggled with injuries including one to quarterback
Andrew Luck
Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during his c ...
, stumbled in the 2015 season and finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs. They did, however, manage to set the NFL record for the longest winning streak against any division in the league with their 16th consecutive victory over an
AFC South
The American Football Conference – Southern Division or AFC South is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It was created before the 2002 NFL season, 2002 s ...
opponent when they beat the Houston Texans during Week 5. The record surpassed the previous mark of 15, recorded by the Super Bowl Champion Miami Dolphins against the AFC East during the perfect season of 1972 and into the following season.
On January 4, 2016, the Colts announced that Grigson and head coach
Chuck Pagano
Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is a former American football coach and player. Pagano spent six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017. He also served as the defensiv ...
had both received contract extensions through the 2019 season.
On January 21, 2017, Grigson was relieved of his duties as general manager. The Colts failed to make the playoffs in the two consecutive seasons leading up to his firing, the first time the team had missed the playoffs in consecutive years since the 1997–98 seasons. One move that made many question Grigson was the infamous Trent Richardson deal that lost the Colts a first round draft pick. While at the time the move was applauded by many football pundits and fans, the trade ultimately didn't work out. Trent Richardson ended up averaging only 3.1 yards per carry and scoring only 6 touchdowns in 2 seasons with the team and was a healthy scratch during the AFC Championship game in 2015. Another questionable move that confused many was the drafting of
Phillip Dorsett
Phillip Howard Dorsett II (born January 5, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Miami (FL) and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the first ...
in the 1st round of the 2015 NFL draft, while the Colts offensive line was struggling to protect their franchise quarterback, and their defense coming off a less than mediocre season. However a trade that worked out exceptionally well for Grigson and the Colts was the acquisition of former first round draft pick Vontae Davis in 2012 who was a big part of the 2012 turnaround and was later named to the Pro Bowl in both 2014 and 2015. Another move by Grigson was the trade and subsequent selection of T.Y. Hilton in the 2012 NFL draft. Grigson essentially gave up a fifth round pick for the right to move up from the early fourth to the late third round and select a three time Pro Bowl Selection and the NFL's leading receiver in 2016. Overall, the Colts had a regular season record of 49-31 (.613 winning percentage) while Grigson was general manager.
Cleveland Browns (first stint)
On May 24, 2017, Grigson was hired as the senior personnel executive for the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
. In January 2018, the Browns announced that he was no longer part of the team's front office personnel.
Seattle Seahawks
On June 13, 2018, Grigson was hired as a senior football consultant for the
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...
, and stayed with the team through the
2019 NFL season
The 2019 NFL season was the 100th season of the National Football League (NFL) and the 54th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on September 5, 2019, with the NFL Kickoff Game, in which Green Bay defeated Chicago. The season concluded w ...
.
Cleveland Browns (second stint)
Grigson was hired by the
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
in an advisory and consulting role in February 2020. The deal was made official on May 29, 2020.
Minnesota Vikings
In 2022, the
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...
named Grigson as their senior vice president of player personnel.
Personal life
Ryan Richard Grigson was born to Jeff and Juanita (Rokita) Grigson in 1972. Jeff (d.1980) played football at
Northwest Missouri State University
Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...
.
Grigson attended Our Lady of Grace Catholic School from 1978 to 1986. He played high school football at
Highland Senior High from 1986 to 1990. As a sophomore, he was a member of the Trojan team that played in the 1987 5A State Championship game at the Colts' original stadium, the Hoosier Dome (
RCA Dome
The RCA Dome (originally Hoosier Dome) was a domed stadium in Indianapolis. It was the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise for 24 seasons (1984– 2007).
It was completed at a cost of $77.5 million, as part of the Indiana Convention Ce ...
).
Grigson met his wife, Cynthia, while the two were students at Purdue University. The couple married in 2001 and have six children.
References
External links
Indianapolis Colts bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigson, Ryan
1972 births
Living people
American football offensive tackles
American football tight ends
Cincinnati Bengals players
Detroit Lions players
Indianapolis Colts executives
Philadelphia Eagles executives
Minnesota Vikings executives
Purdue Boilermakers football players
St. Louis Rams scouts
Toronto Argonauts players
People from Highland, Lake County, Indiana
Players of American football from Indiana
National Football League general managers
Saskatchewan Roughriders personnel
McPherson Bulldogs football coaches
Arena Football League executives