A 42-27 loss at home on Monday Night Football to the San Francisco 49ers all but hammered the final nail in the Colts’ coffin. Indianapolis is nearing an achievement never accomplished in the NFL before—start a season 8-2 only to miss the playoffs.
While several factors have contributed to the downhill tumble, injuries to key players, for example, Monday night’s deflating performance proved one main point right—it’s time for a significant shakeup.
In order for the Colts to return to the cream of the crop in the AFC, the organization must be stripped down and built back up. Ultimately, it starts at the top.
General manager Chris Ballard has enjoyed a near decade-long tenure at the helm of Indy’s football operations. While his keen eye for young talent coming into the league has been a real weapon for the Colts as they hit on several late-round draft picks during his time, Ballard’s team building approach has proven ineffective.
Ballard has taken a very patient approach in acquiring players, with a focus on building a strong locker room over a competitive roster. Those looking for big money in free agency won’t fit. Draft prospects below a certain athletic threshold will be passed up on.
Ballard has relied on a core nucleus of players who, despite their abilities on the field, he is convinced have the qualities to lead the Colts out of the mud. Other than Jonathan Taylor, the rest of Ballard’s selected leadership core hasn’t gotten it done in 2025. Braden Smith and DeForest Buckner have battled injuries. Michael Pittman Jr. is having the worst season of his career. Zaire Franklin has been exposed for being a middle-of-the-road linebacker, at best.
Ballard’s philosophy, in concept, is solid. But it just hasn’t worked. While he’s adamant that it takes time to create success, fans don’t share that same patience.
The Colts have not won their division since 2014. Since Ballard was hired in 2017, every other AFC South team has achieved a division title not just once, but twice. Indy’s record during his stint? 70-76-1. Yet, he’s survived this long.
At the spot where continuity is the most important, the Colts never had it. For as strong a talent evaluator as he is, Ballard could never find the right guy at the most crucial position on the field.
He has never properly nailed down the quarterback position. Since Andrew Luck’s shock 2019 retirement, the Colts have had 12 different players start under center.
To say Ballard is one of the most overrated general managers in the league would be the fairest assessment possible considering the results he’s gotten from his work. Just two playoff appearances, none since 2020, and just one postseason win to show for it.
Indy has gotten close to the playoffs several times. A win away in 2021. Potentially a play away in 2023. Opportunities have been there, but the end result hasn’t been.
The common denominator? Ballard and his crew. While the players Ballard has built around have been solid and consistent, it’s become increasingly clear that this core can’t get it done.
As a result, it’s time to blow it up. With new ownership already in place, the timing feels right too. The Irsay sisters deserve to make their own hire to lead Indy’s football operations. After all, it’s their team now.
Even if the Colts can somehow pull off the unthinkable and reclaim the postseason position which they were poised to clinch earlier this season, the writing is on the wall for Ballard. And has been for at least a year.
Despite surviving another disappointing season in 2024 where the Colts were again in the playoff mix late only to give away their opportunity, Ballard chose to change his typically careful approach drastically. He handed big contracts to free agent defenders Cam Bynum and Charvarius Ward. He traded two first-round picks at the trade deadline to acquire All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner.
He tried to be aggressive. In the end, it was just reckless. Reckless enough to have cost him his job.
With Ballard all but out the door, he’s not the only one who should go. Head coach Shane Steichen should be safe, but several of his staff members are not. Quarterbacks coach Cam Turner hasn’t proven to be effective in the development of Anthony Richardson Sr. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is an early head coaching candidate and could elect to go on his own. Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, overseeing a pass rush which has recorded just one sack in the last three games, is under pressure.
Nobody is safe. But Ballard and his contingency of players are just two games from being without work. Unfortunately for the Colts, it’s not going to get instantly better right away.
Without a first-round pick in the next two seasons and aging veterans scattered around the roster, there will be plenty of turnover. But with a regime change, that’s to be expected.
Whether or not the Irsay sisters decide to begin their own era of Colts football is yet to be seen, but if they want their franchise to be taken seriously again and compete for championships, then change is imminent.
The price of success is always steep. We’ll see how big the budget is soon.
