10/19/2026 02:25:00
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10/19 14:23 CDT Colts fire general manager Chris Ballard amid 2-4 start and
loss to previously winless Titans
Colts fire general manager Chris Ballard amid 2-4 start and loss to previously
winless Titans
By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) --- The Indianapolis Colts missed the playoffs five straight
years and missed out on finding their next franchise quarterback in the 2023
NFL draft.
On Monday, general manager Chris Ballard paid the price for both.
Team co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon announced she had fired Ballard, who had been
making the personnel decisions since 2017. The move comes one day after the
hometown fans booed resoundingly throughout the second half of Sunday's game,
chanted "Fire Ballard" and left early as the Colts blew a 13-point halftime
lead and lost 26-20 to previously winless Tennessee.
Irsay-Gordon issued a statement, saying the decision couldn't wait until the
offseason.
"Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in
leadership is necessary to meet that standard," she said. "Making this change
during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the
important work that needs to begin now."
She said a "thorough search" for Ballard's successor has already begun. In the
meantime, assistant general manager Ed Dodds is next in line to make the
personnel moves.
Irsay-Gordon made her position clear in January when she declined to fire
Ballard and coach Shane Steichen as fans clamored for their ousters.
Instead, she said she understood the fans' desire to field a
championship-caliber team but brought both back, acknowledging the urgency to
make the playoffs could not be higher.
Indy (2-4) has not won the AFC South since 2014, the longest title drought in
the division. In fact, each of the other three teams has won at least two
division crowns since the Colts won their last one.
But the early results didn't produce much of a difference.
Ballard spent the offseason overhauling the defense and then watched it open
the season by allowing 1,029 yards, the second-highest two-game total in league
history. Indy lost both games. Victories over the then-winless Houston Texans
and a Washington Commanders squad playing with a backup quarterback briefly
quieted the outside calls for changes.
Another poor defensive performance at Pittsburgh and Sunday's debacle ---
blowing a 13-0 halftime lead as the Titans special teams unit scored one TD and
set up another, and Indy generating only one score in the second half --- only
turned up the heat inside the organization.
And it was notably different following the game.
"We've got to give them something to cheer about," a feistier than usual
Steichen said. "I don't blame them for booing one freaking bit."
The usually even-keeled Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner also showed
his frustration.
"I'm sick and tired of the same song and dance every year," the team captain
said.
Apparently, that was enough to compel Irsay-Gordon to pull the plug on Ballard.
The next steps remain unclear. Steichen reiterated Monday that suddenly
turnover-prone quarterback Daniel Jones would keep his job and he wasn't
planning to make any staff changes, though he also has acknowledged the Colts
must take better care of the ball.
He said Irsay-Gordon told him earlier Monday that the Colts were moving on from
Ballard.
"The urgency has never been higher, and we've got to go put a product on the
field that's a winning product, that people are proud of," Steichen said.
"We've got to do a better job of that each and every week when we go out there
and play."
No players were available to reporters Monday.
Indy (2-4) visits unbeaten Minnesota (5-0) next weekend, then travels to AFC
South-leading Jacksonville (4-2) the following week. Their next home game is
Nov. 8 against Dallas.
Ballard presided over some strange twists and turns not necessarily of his own
volition --- the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck in August 2019, starting
seven straight season-openers with a different quarterback, the midseason
firing of coach Frank Reich and subsequent hiring of Jeff Saturday in 2022, and
a nasty contract dispute involving Irsay and Jonathan Taylor in 2023.
Then last year, in need of a veteran quarterback trying to salvage a quickly
unraveling season, Ballard brought Philip Rivers out of retirement just after
he was named a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist.
Ballard also presided over a team that always seemed to be on the cusp of
contending.
Indy ended a three-year playoff absence in 2018 when Luck led them to a
wild-card round win at Houston before falling in the divisional round at Kansas
City, where Ballard worked prior to being hired by Irsay-Gordon's late father,
Jim. Rivers led the Colts to their last postseason appearance in 2020, losing
27-24 at Buffalo.
Indy also was eliminated on the final weekend twice since then.
But it was the decision to select quarterback Anthony Richardson with the No. 4
overall pick in 2023 that ultimately may have cost Ballard his job.
Richardson's inaccuracy, inconsistency and injury history prompted the Colts to
bring in Jones last season.
Jones wound up winning the battle to play, and as he led the Colts offense to a
historic start in 2025, Richardson continued to sit and watch as the Colts went
8-2. But a broken bone in Jones' left leg derailed the season, and he suffered
a season-ending torn right Achilles tendon in December. Indy finished the
season by losing its final seven games.
This season's poor start, apparently, was the final straw for Irsay-Gordon.
"I also want to be clear: this decision does not change our goals for the
season," Irsay-Gordon said. "We have a lot of football in front of us, and I
expect us to compete, improve, and win football games."
Ballard, a Texan who played college football at Wisconsin, also worked in the
Chicago Bears front office from 2001-11 and coached at Texas A&M-Kingsville
from 1994-99.
___
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