WESTFIELD, Ind. — Carlie Irsay-Gordon needed to get something off her chest. So, on the eve of the Indianapolis Colts’ first training camp practice, the organization’s principal owner stood before the players and coaches and delivered a message.“As we reflected on last season, this one phrase just kept coming to my mind: ‘Find a way,’” Irsay-Gordon said Friday after the Colts’ third training camp practice. “And so that was the mantra that we settled on for this season.”Colts CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon on QB Daniel JonesJames BoydIrsay-Gordon explained that there are certain traits like consistency, resiliency and mental toughness that separate the great teams from the rest of the pack. The problem, however, is that based on the results, the Colts have lacked those qualities, especially last season.After surging to an 8-2 start to sit atop the AFC standings in 2025, the Colts lost their last seven games and missed the playoffs for the fifth-straight year. Injuries were a significant factor in their collapse, most notably when starting QB Daniel Jones ruptured his right Achilles tendon, but Irsay-Gordon still expected more.This year, she hopes, will be different.“We certainly can’t use injuries as an excuse, because that’s something every team goes through,” Irsay-Gordon said. “I’ve talked to players and coaches about (how) if you haven’t quite had success yet, sometimes it’s important to think about where you came from, where you are now and what you want to become. It’s hard when we’ve had years of not quite getting over that hump, but I think just that’s why we’re kind of hammering on (that mantra of finding a way).”Indianapolis hasn’t made the playoffs since 2020, hasn’t won a playoff game since 2018 and hasn’t won the AFC South since 2014. What’s more, amid their current five-year postseason drought, the Colts are a combined 18-27 in November, December and January.Despite damning evidence of being a middling franchise in recent years, Irsay-Gordon oozed with optimism Friday and said she knows the Colts have “everything we need” to change the direction of the franchise. A large part of Irsay-Gordon’s belief is rooted in the team’s field general: Jones.The veteran quarterback, who is about eight months removed from undergoing surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon, has already returned to being a full participant in practice and is poised to begin his second straight season as Indy’s starter. Jones quickly won over the locker room last year thanks to his steady play, attention to detail and toughness, which have carried over into 2026. But the elephant in the room, which Irsay-Gordon acknowledged, is that Jones has a lengthy injury history and hasn’t completed a full season since 2022.“I feel like every player has injuries, and I just think Daniel, he has a find-a-way mindset,” Irsay-Gordon said. “… (Thursday) morning, I’m working out, it’s like 6.a.m., and he’s coming out of the quarterback room. And he did that all through, even with his injury. … He’s just a great leader, and I believe that he’s gonna find a way to figure it out and stay healthy and get us where we need to go.”Of course, Irsay-Gordon isn’t expecting everything to break the Colts’ way. Hardships surely await, she warned, but how they respond will reveal who they truly are.“You have to have that mindset, that inner-belief, that inner-faith (to overcome),” Irsay-Gordon said. “… What are you gonna do when the adversity comes? Are you gonna stay disciplined? Are you gonna stay consistent? Or are you gonna go into the fetal position? … It kind of comes down to that find-a-way mindset.”Daniel Jones is back on the field after Achilles surgeryJames BoydBallard and Steichen’s futureAside from sharing the Colts’ new mantra on Friday, Irsay-Gordon was also asked about the future of two of the franchise’s most important figures: general manager Chris Ballard and coach Shane Steichen. Ballard, who is entering his 10th season and the final year of his contract, has a 70-78-1 record in Indianapolis. Steichen is 25-26 as he begins his fourth campaign.Ballard said Tuesday that he did not expect to receive a contract extension, presumably because he hasn’t delivered enough wins on his current one. Asked if she viewed the 2026 campaign as a “consequential season” for Ballard and Steichen’s job security, Irsay-Gordon did not give a definitive answer.“I think even if you’re Seattle, I think the pressure is always there,” Irsay-Gordon said of the Super-Bowl champion Seahawks. “But certainly, as I’ve told Chris and Shane, the sense of urgency has never been higher, and we have to find a way.”Irsay-Gordon added that she’ll continue empowering Ballard, regardless of his expiring contract, and she won’t micromanage his roster decisions. But when asked directly where things stand regarding Ballard’s tenure with the team, Irsay-Gordon again declined to get into specifics.“I believe we have everyone here to get us where we need to go,” Irsay-Gordon said. “Chris wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that, and we’re just gonna have to see how things play out.”Mum on Taylor’s contractIrsay-Gordon would not guarantee that Jonathan Taylor would get a new contract, but she was complimentary of the Colts’ star running back. Taylor, who is entering the last year of his three-year, $42 million deal, said in the spring that he wants to be “a Colt for life.”He doubled down Wednesday, saying he believes his contract negotiations are “moving in the right direction.”“I love Jonathan. I’m really proud of the leader he’s become on our team,” Irsay-Gordon said while keeping all contract negotiations private. “… His picture is on the (side of Lucas Oil Stadium) for a reason, and I would love it if he would be a Colt for life.”Taylor’s 69 rushing TDs are the most in Colts history. He ranks second in franchise rushing yards (7,598), trailing only Hall of Famer Edgerrin James (9,266).Last camp at Grand ParkIrsay-Gordon said it was “a tough decision” to stop hosting the Colts’ training camp at Westfield’s Grand Park. After this year, training camp will be held at the team’s practice facility on West 56th Street. The Colts have called Grand Park their summer home for eight of the last nine years, with the only exclusion being in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.“It wasn’t a financial decision,” Irsay-Gordon said. “It was really more about the operational efficiency and making sure our team can prepare to perform on game day, and that was just the best decision.”Irsay-Gordon said the Colts haven’t hammered out how they will accommodate fans at their practice facility, which is much smaller than Grand Park, but she vowed that the fans will remain a priority.