The Indianapolis Colts are shaking up their front office following a stunning 26-20 loss to the 1-5 Tennessee Titans in Week 6.
On Monday, Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon confirmed they fired 10th-year general manager Chris Ballard after a 2-4 start. They have yet to name an interim GM. Shane Steichen will remain head coach for now.
After the news broke, Irsay-Gordon released a statement. He thanked Ballard for his contributions to the franchise but made it clear a change was needed after the team largely floundered in mediocrity for most of his tenure.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon speaks out about Chris Ballard’s firing
“Like I said at the beginning of the season, the sense of urgency has never been higher,” Irsay-Gordon said. “Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard.”
Under Ballard, the Colts went 72-82-1 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs. The team would have won more games if the executive had found a franchise quarterback.
Since former Colts QB Andrew Luck unexpectedly retired before the 2019 season, the team has started 12 different quarterbacks. Ballard gave up on several attempts to find Luck’s replacement.
The most notable flop was taking Anthony Richardson at pick No. 4 in the 2023 NFL Draft, though he’s clearly a project QB. He completed just 53.8 percent of his passes in his final season with the Florida Gators. His accuracy remained a problem in the NFL, as he completed 50.6 percent of his passes in Indianapolis.
In 2025, the Colts turned to former New York Giants QB Daniel Jones, who went 8-5 as a starter before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear. This offseason, they signed him to a two-year, $88M contract, which now looks like a “mistake.”
In six starts this season, Jones has thrown more interceptions (six) than touchdown passes (four). He threw two picks in the loss to the Titans.
“I also want to be clear: this decision does not change our goals for the season,” Irsay-Gordon said. “We have a lot left in football, and I expect us to compete, improve and win football games.”
The Colts, however, shouldn’t improve much as they enter another rebuild and search for a new GM. They better make sure the next one has a keen eye for the most important position after Ballard failed to find an answer at QB.