Two arguments exist for those directly in charge of the Indianapolis Colts' on-field product. One is for head coach Shane Steichen and the other is for general manager Chris Ballard. Those arguments come from fans, of course. For the ownership group, they are more and more likely not to make the needed changes.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, both Ballard and Steichen will be retained moving forward. Co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said she would speak to the media on Monday, but what is the point? She will likely say she has thought about the situation and wanted to give Ballard and Steichen at least one more season.
With Steichen, it makes sense. He has only had the roster for three seasons that Ballard gave him. Is it Steichen's fault that his starting quarterback got injured a bit over midway through the season? Nope. The team started 7-1, mostly because of Steichen's offensive scheme.
Indianapolis Colts fans should get used to the same old drama in 2026
With Ballard, he needed to go. He arrogantly answers questions from the media as if he had won something. He hasn't. He has had his job for nine years, the team has made the playoffs only twice, and never won the AFC South. The last time Indy was in the postseason was the 2020 season.
In any other walk of life, if an employee failed seven times in nine years and kept making the same mistakes, they likely would be let go. Ballard, however, must be made of Teflon. Perhaps he had the difficult job of a rebuild when he was hired early in 2017, but that rebuild should have happened by now.
It has been nine years without any real level of success. Whatever he keeps saying to the ownership group to keep being employed by the Indianapolis Colts must be words of magic. He doesn't deserve to stay.
The 2026 offseason will be no different for the general manager. His key football sin with the team has been that he doesn't seem to make wise decisions about the most important position in football: Quarterback. He kept signing older QBs, and then he chose Anthony Richardson with the fourth pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Richardson has been a bust.
Any credit for his ability to build a roster is without merit, too. Again, his team has made the postseason just twice since he became GM. That is failure.
Maybe some will argue that the 2025 roster would have been good enough to make the playoffs if so many key players had not been injured, and that might be true. The counterpoint is, why did it take Chris Ballard eight years to finally build a roster capable of winning the division?
Shane Steichen should be safe. Chris Ballard shouldn't. Once again, the Indianapolis Colts made a poor decision with the person in charge of the roster.