The Colts Were Right to Fire Chris Ballard

The move was long overdue. Ballard found talented players and made several shrewd personnel moves, but he never turned that talent into sustained success. Indianapolis repeatedly waited for a breakthrough that never came, giving Ballard more opportunities even as the same problems persisted.

The Colts were right to make a change. The bigger question is why it took so long.

2021: A Collapse That Should Have Ended His Tenure

Indianapolis entered the 2021 season with legitimate playoff aspirations after winning 11 games the previous year. The team acquired quarterback Carson Wentz to provide stability at the position and appeared capable of making a deep postseason run.

Instead, the season ended in one of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history.

The Colts needed to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18 to secure a playoff berth. Jacksonville entered at 2-14 and had already been eliminated from contention.

Indianapolis lost 26-11.

The collapse exposed a team that could not deliver when the stakes were highest. Ballard also deserved scrutiny for the Wentz trade, which cost the Colts a first-round pick and left them searching for another quarterback after just one season.

That should have been the final nail in the coffin for Ballard's tenure. A general manager must be judged by more than the talent on his roster. He must also be accountable when his team repeatedly falls short.

Instead, Ballard remained in place. The following season made that decision even harder to justify.

2022: Another Failed Gamble

If the 2021 collapse did not convince Indianapolis to make a change, the 2022 season should have removed any remaining doubt.

The Colts finished 4-12-1, fired head coach Frank Reich during the season and turned to former Indianapolis center Jeff Saturday as interim coach despite his lack of NFL coaching experience. The team struggled on both sides of the ball as its season unraveled.

The quarterback situation deteriorated as well. Indianapolis had acquired Matt Ryan to provide stability after the Wentz experiment, but that move failed, too.

Ballard had now overseen two failed veteran quarterback acquisitions and a midseason coaching change. The Colts were heading toward a top-five draft pick and needed a new head coach and a long-term answer at quarterback.

Yet ownership gave Ballard another chance.

Indianapolis hired Shane Steichen in 2023 and selected Anthony Richardson fourth overall, effectively giving its general manager a fresh start with a new coaching staff and a premium draft asset.

It was another gamble that bought Ballard more time. It did not solve the franchise's problems.

A New Coach and Quarterback Didn't Do the Trick

Steichen and Richardson gave Indianapolis a fresh start, but Richardson's development quickly became complicated. A shoulder injury ended his rookie season after four starts, and he started 11 games in 2024 before struggling with consistency and losing the job to veteran Joe Flacco. Richardson eventually reclaimed the starting role, but questions about his readiness remained.

Those concerns carried into 2025. Richardson had not established himself as a dependable franchise quarterback, and injuries further complicated his development. The Colts eventually turned to Daniel Jones, who provided a different path forward and helped raise expectations entering 2026.

For a stretch, the change appeared to be working. But Jones' arrival underscored a larger problem: years after spending a top-four pick on Richardson, Indianapolis was still searching for a sustainable answer at quarterback.

By the time the Colts fell to 2-4 in 2026, the Steichen era had produced no playoff appearances. Richardson's injuries and development, coaching decisions and other factors all contributed, but Ballard was responsible for building a roster with a viable path forward at its most important position.

The problems extended beyond quarterback. Indianapolis continued to show glaring weaknesses in the passing game and along the defensive front.

The result was a team capable of flashes without establishing itself as a legitimate contender. After the 2021 collapse, the Colts needed accountability. After the 2022 disaster, they needed a new direction. Instead, they kept giving Ballard more time and hoping the next decision would fix the previous one.

That cycle had to end.

The Numbers Tell the Story

Ballard finished his Indianapolis tenure with a 72-82-1 regular-season record, two playoff appearances and one postseason victory.

Since 1980, he is one of only two general managers to remain in the job for at least 10 seasons while overseeing fewer than three playoff appearances. The other is Rod Graves, who served as Arizona's general manager from 2003-12.

But Graves' Cardinals reached Super Bowl XLIII and won four postseason games. Ballard's Colts won just once in the playoffs.

That makes Ballard the only general manager in that 45-year span to remain in the job for at least a decade while recording fewer than three playoff appearances and fewer than two playoff victories.

The Colts reached the postseason in 2018 and 2020, but never built on those appearances. They failed to win the AFC South during Ballard's tenure and went six consecutive seasons without making the playoffs.

The NFL offers teams opportunities to turn things around through the draft, free agency and coaching changes. Ballard had nearly a decade to take advantage of those opportunities. Instead, Indianapolis remained stuck between rebuilding and competing, never fully committing to either path.

Eventually, a franchise has to judge its general manager by what the team accomplishes. By that standard, Ballard fell short.

The Colts Need a New Voice

Firing Ballard does not guarantee Indianapolis will become a contender. In fact, the Colts' general manager opening could be one of the least desirable jobs in the league.

The next executive inherits years of mediocrity, aging veterans on large contracts and immediate pressure to deliver results. The quarterback situation remains unsettled despite years of investment, the defense needs answers along the defensive front and difficult decisions loom regarding the roster's long-term direction.

There is talent to work with, but the next general manager cannot simply add a few pieces and expect a contender to emerge. He must determine whether the current roster can realistically compete, identify which players fit the next competitive window and build a plan that avoids repeating the previous regime's mistakes.

That could mean moving established players to recoup draft capital, particularly DeForest Buckner and Quenton Nelson, whose contracts expire after the 2026 season. Indianapolis should also evaluate the trade value of other key players rather than treating the current roster as untouchable.

The next GM will need patience from ownership while facing pressure to win. Ballard received nearly a decade to build a contender and still fell short. His successor must fix the same problems while convincing the organization that a different approach can finally work.

In other words, it'll likely get worse before it gets better.

That makes the hire especially important. Indianapolis cannot afford to replace Ballard with someone who simply continues the same roster-building philosophy and hopes for different results. The next regime needs the authority to make difficult decisions, the resources to build a sustainable contender and a clear vision for how to get there.

Ballard had nearly a decade to establish that foundation. The Colts endured the 2021 collapse, the 2022 disaster and years of inconsistency that followed. They gave him a new coach, a top-four quarterback selection and more time to get the franchise back on track.

He never did.

Indianapolis was right to fire Ballard, and the decision should have come sooner. Now the organization must find a successor capable of turning one of the league's most challenging openings into a team that consistently competes for championships.