The Indianapolis Colts suffered a dispiriting 26-20 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans in Week 6, and it was clear after this result that changes needed to be made. On Monday morning, a big one was announced, as it was revealed that the team had decided to fire longtime general manager Chris Ballard.
While there were some good times during Ballard’s stint in charge of the front office, he has seemingly been on thin ice for quite some time now. In a surprise twist, reports have indicated Ballard sent an eye-opening message to team owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon before she decided to send him packing.
Chris Ballard’s Message for Carlie Irsay-Gordon
Ballard was named the Colts general manager ahead of the 2017 campaign, and he’s held that position ever since. During his time in charge, Ballard largely helped keep Indianapolis competitive at the very least, but he frequently shot himself in the foot with foolish big-time moves.
Case in point, pretty much everything Indy did over the past year or so has backfired. Just to name a couple of moves, the decision to trade for cornerback Sauce Gardner has not panned out, and re-signing both Daniel Jones and Alec Pierce to big-money extensions in free agency has not yielded the desired results.
This is a group that took the league by storm to begin the 2025 campaign, but Ballard’s mismanagement of the roster is a big reason why the team has crawled out to a 2-4 start. According to a new report, Ballard told Irsay-Gordon to make a move that would benefit the team, which seems to indicate he was at peace with his fate.
“My understanding is that Ballard told owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon that she should make the change for the good and needs of the organization, per league source,” NFL insider Josina Anderson reported in a post on X. “Additionally, I’m told Ballard understands that 10 years is a long time to be general manager on any one team & that he recently came to peace with the blessing of staying with the organization in that role, for that long.”
Colts Must Forge Ahead Without Chris Ballard
Maybe Ballard will be surprised by the team’s decision to fire him, but considering how his job security had been a topic of discussion for the past few months, he likely knew what was coming his way. Now, the team will have to work on finding a proper replacement, while also trying to find a way to start winning games this season.
The problem for the Colts is that things aren’t exactly going to get any easier for them. If they couldn’t beat the Titans on Sunday, they are probably going to have a tough time with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. The issues with this team go beyond Ballard, and while it’s not much of a surprise to see him get fired, this may only be the tip of the iceberg for Indianapolis.
Chris Ballard’s Message to Carlie Irsay-Gordon Before Colts Firing Turns Heads