The Indianapolis Colts were one of the best stories in the NFL in the first half of last season. With Daniel Jones at the helm on a one-year "prove it" deal, the team won eight of its first ten games. Jonathan Taylor looked like an MVP, the defense was getting stops, and Jones was playing the best football of his career.
Fast forward to today, and what once seemed a given might not be so much. The head coach and the general manager will be under the scope in 2026, and there are no guarantees about their jobs anymore.
That's why, now that he's also gotten a big payday, Daniel Jones knows there's no more room for excuses. Talking to ESPN's Stephen Holder, he admitted that the team knew there was a greater sense of urgency this time.
Daniel Jones acknowledges there's a different sense of urgency for the Indianapolis Colts
"And we understand it starts over. You've got to prove it again, and we've got to build this team. And there's a lot of work that goes into that just like there was last year, and we've got to be able to consistently perform," Jones said. "So, we're confident because I think we've seen what we could be. But there's a high sense of urgency to get back to do that."
The Colts gave up multiple first-round picks for CB Sauce Gardner. Then, with a banged-up Jones and the team regressing as a whole, the Colts closed out the year on a seven-game losing streak and missed the playoffs. Ballard and Steichen went from heroes to zeros in the span of two months.
Shane Steichen's team has four crucial contributors in Braden Smith, Kwity Paye, Nick Cross, and Michael Pittman Jr. They aren't likely to make many big moves after already locking up Jones and Alec Pierce, knowing that landing Gardner at the trade deadline was probably their primary reinforcement for this offseason.
That's not necessarily a bad approach, but it certainly puts more pressure on the coaching staff to adapt and adjust to get this ship going again.
The AFC South is no longer the bottom-feeding division it once was, and the Colts can't go through the motions anymore. They've craved continuity and stability at quarterback since Andrew Luck's sudden retirement, and Jones may finally give them that. Now, there's no room for excuses.
The NFL is a short-memory league. It's never about what you did in the past; it's all about what you can do now. Steichen earned the benefit of the doubt for keeping the offense decent with a revolving door of mediocre quarterback play, but owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon has already shown that she won't hesitate to do whatever it takes to get this team going.
Only time will tell if Ballard made the right move with Gardner, but the clock is ticking. The Colts are no longer a feel-good story, and the bar is clearly higher this time.