Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard speaks at a press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine at Indiana Convention Center.

Chris Ballard’s Philosophy

Chris Ballard has been the general manager of the Colts for eight years now. Indy is 62-69-1 with zero division titles, two playoff appearances, and only one playoff win in his tenure. 2024 marks the fourth consecutive season the Colts have missed the playoffs, their longest streak dating back to 1988-94. Every team in the AFC South has won the division at least twice except the Colts in Ballard’s eight years as general manager.

Ballard has had plenty of time to turn the Colts into a contender. The excuse of Andrew Luck’s retirement ran out a few years ago. Every player other than Ryan Kelly has been picked by Ballard for this team, and they have routinely fallen short.

Ballard has been widely criticized for his approach to free agency, failing to bring in the best options to help plug holes on the roster. While buying a team rarely works out, not using free agency as a tool puts the team at a grave disadvantage. Ballard’s unwillingness to adjust his philosophy on free agency, combined with Jim Irsay’s inability to match the high-end guarantees required, have cost the Colts dearly.

Ballard has also been prone to being overconfident in the players the Colts have. The Colts have bet on upside more than proven production throughout Ballard’s tenure and it has led to holes and weak spots in the roster. Settling for good instead of striving for great is why the Colts are in purgatory every season.

But most importantly, it is the culture that Ballard has allowed to be established that needs addressed. Ballard has continually preached having a good culture and locker room is the key to success. We have seen his culture crumble, where accountability is too often questioned while established players are rarely pushed and instead rewarded for average play. It is why collapses like we saw against the Giants have happened more than once during Ballard’s regime.

Before Sunday night, the title of this section was “Fire Chris Ballard.” Irsay already decided against that after the win against the Jags, sending out a letter to Colts fans informing them that Ballard and Steichen would be back in 2025.

I’ve been evaluating our entire operation, and I believe in Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen and our collective ability to make the improvements needed to take us to the next level in 2025,” Irsay said.

With Ballard back that helm, it will be very difficult for the Colts to turn this mess around unless he makes fundamental changes to his philosophy of running the team. The Colts need a general manager who is poised to build a team for 2025, not for 2005. Ballard must begin to use all avenues available for roster building to his advantage, including a more active and aggressive free agent approach, and be honest about the level of talent on the roster.

Ballard also must address the cultural issues inside the building. A culture of accountability and continued competition must be established, where everyone is striving for greatness at every level and settling for just good enough is not tolerated. The standard should be competing for Super Bowls, not middling at .500.

The Colts have been known to “run it back” with much of the same squad Ballard has assembled each year. Should do that once more, it is hard to imagine Ballard remaining as the Colts’ general manager past 2025..

Part Ways With Gus Bradley

Gus Bradley was hired by the Colts before the 2022 season and is a holdover from the Frank Reich staff. While Steichen has a long history with Bradley and has consistently defended him, the defensive coordinator has had an abysmal tenure in Indy.

Bradley’s units have either been a bottom-third team or have progressively gotten worse in multiple categories as the Colts’ DC. The table below lists several key defensive categories and where the Colts have ranked each year under Bradley.

The only defensive category the Colts have seen a substantial improvement in is their ranking in turnovers forced. However, the graphic shows the Colts have not forced many more turnovers than in years past, rather other teams are not forcing as many as they previously have.

Bradley’s defenses have routinely had problems with execution since he arrived in Indy. Missed tackles have been prominent and have not improved over the years. The Colts also seem to be good for at least one miscommunication in the secondary per game, leaving a receiver wide open for an easy gain or touchdown. These problems have been present since Bradley was hired and have not gone away.

The Colts tend to play down to their competition under Bradley as well. This year alone, the Colts gave up 45 points to the Giants (averaging 14.3 points per game prior), 37 points to the Jaguars (averaging 15.0 ppg prior), and 30 points to the Tennessee Titans (averaging 18.1 ppg prior). These are teams the Colts should be handling defensively, but instead, they are allowing players on these teams to have career days.

Indy has had a propensity for failing to get off the field on third down under Bradley. The Colts routinely rank toward the bottom of the NFL in third-down stop percentage no matter the distance. It has become a running joke amongst fans that when the opposing team faces a third-and-long, you can assume they will pick it up against Bradley’s defense.

Bradley has proven he is not willing to adjust his defensive scheme and philosophy to challenge offenses in today’s game. The defense has been in place for three years now and things are not improving. They are getting worse and players are not reaching their full potential.

With Bradley’s contract expiring at the conclusion of the 2024 season, a new defensive coordinator and defensive staff are needed to establish a new direction and begin turning the Colts’ defense into a formidable unit.

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