Sometimes it is safe to be with the Indianapolis Colts. Sure, the team is one of 32 in the high-pressure NFL, but being in the Midwest instead of the Northeast is better for one's mental health. A general manager, for instance, who hasn't succeeded in years would have been fired by a team in the Northeast. In Indy, he's safe.
For now, at least. General manager Chris Ballard's job security is something that is something many fans have been wondering about for some time. The GM was hired in early 2017 to turn around a suddenly struggling organization. He hasn't done that. Only twice since then have the Colts made the postseason, and not at all since 2020.
Yet, ownership thinks some changes are easy, but must be impossible for the true decision-makers. The more vocal of the daughters of Jim Irsay, who took over after Irsay died in 2025, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, said following the season that firing people is "the easy decision."
Indianapolis Colts ownership has an "easy" decision to make on Chris Ballard
Indy fans were reminded of that comment in a recent article by ESPN's Colts reporter, Stephen Holder. His piece talks about how proud Irsay-Gordon is of the lineage of her family and the franchise, as she should be, but doesn't delve into the future of the GM or head coach.
The article couldn't, really. Irsay-Gordon, just as no owner should, would tell a single reporter that she is thinking of pushing out Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen and starting all over again. The problem is that many fans think she should do just that, especially with Ballard.
Every job, whether it be a professional football team or any other walk of life, has requirements that people must meet. For an NFL general manager, that means building rosters capable of making the Super Bowl, with the assumption that injuries and unexpected things will happen. That's why building depth matters.
Chris Ballard hasn't built rosters capable of winning a Super Bowl, as he hasn't even built them to make the playoffs or win the AFC South. The GM has never done that in his tenure; all the other three teams in the division have won the AFC South at least twice in that time. That's embarrassing.
And one can argue that injuries decimated a promising 2025 season, but the San Francisco 49ers, the team that lost more games to presumed starters than any other, didn't make injuries an excuse and made the playoffs. Every team loses key players.
Chris Ballard's problems have been depth and not having a clue about drafting a good quarterback. For those reasons, Carlie Irsay-Gordon should prove herself correct. Making needed changes is "easy," and the Indianapolis Colts would be better off with a new general manager.
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