Indianapolis Colts hire Chris Ballard as General Manager

The Indianapolis Colts had a quick search for the new GM, hiring former Kansas City Chiefs personnel man Chris Ballard to fill the role.

The Colts and owner Jim Irsay took eight days to find their new general manager. The team interview six other candidates and it was clear early on that Chris Ballard was the favorite for the job. After a second interview over the weekend, the Colts had their man and gave him the reigns to the team.

Ballard has spent the past four years with the Chiefs, and the past two as their director of football operations. He has been a highly coveted potential GM with a number of teams attempting to bring him in for interviews. Ballard spent the first two years with the Chiefs as their director of player personnel.

Prior to the Chiefs, Ballard spent 12 years with the Chicago Bears.

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The Chiefs have consistently nailed drafts during Ballard’s tenure and become one of the steadier franchises in the NFL. They’ve made the playoffs in three of the past four seasons, and never finished less than 9-7. Ballard has had an integral role in the team’s success.

Ballard turned down an interview this offseason with the San Francisco 49ers.

Ballard is well liked around the NFL and has proven to be successful when it comes to helping build a deep, talented roster.

Indianapolis parted ways with five year GM Ryan Grigson on January 21st, much to the relief of some of the players. There are still questions swirling around the status of coach Chuck Pagano.

While all signs point to him being the coach in 2017, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was let go in the near future. There are rumors that Ballard wanted to bring in his own coach (notably Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub) and that keeping Pagano might have been a deal breaker for some of the GM candidates.

The Colts will hold a press conference on Monday to announce the deal with Ballard.

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