No one can tell the future, of course, though NFL teams have to sometimes pretend to be able to do that. After all, many have assumed that quarterback Daniel Jones will return to the Indianapolis Colts in free agency and then be good in the future. General manager Chris Ballard certainly implied as much in a recent press conference.
But Jones can sign anywhere he wants to. Indy would be left with a decision to start Anthony Richardson or Riley Leonard, or look elsewhere in a free agent class that is pretty weak. Indianapolis has no real draft option as Ballard gave the Colts' next two first-round picks to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner.
But what if (and, again, this is sadly not realistic anymore) the Indianapolis Colts ownership had made the not-so-bold decisions to let Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen go this offseason? Ballard's team has made the postseason just twice in his nine years on the job. Steichen is 7-22 against teams with winning records in his three seasons in Indy.
The ifs and whats had the Indianapolis Colts been braver this offseason
If owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon and her sisters had been able to see the future, they would have known letting go of Ballard and Steichen was the easy move. Instead, the team could have chased two head coach who stunningly parted from their longtime teams after the regular season.
One was John Harbaugh, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, but he is apparently headed to the New York Giants. The other was Mike Tomlin, who called it quits with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tomlin would have been the perfect fit for Indy. In his 19 years with the Steelers, he succeeded no matter the kind of roster he had. The current makeup of the Colts, with or without Daniel Jones, would be something Tomlin could have molded into a winner.
He would have made the defense into a solid group, and he would have made the offense extremely efficient with running back Jonathan Taylor.
To be sure, he is still under contract for a season with Pittsburgh, and the Colts would have had to work out a trade for the rights to hire Tomlin, but somehow Indy could have done that. The team would have then had to hire a new general manager, but had the right head coach in position.
The future would have been brighter had the Indianapolis Colts been able to see the future. Instead, they went with the past.