Colts GM Chris Ballard defends team-building approach: “I'm getting fired for this, so that's the way it is” | News, results, highlights, stats and rumors

While there were certainly some highlights during Chris Ballard's seven-year tenure as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, the team ultimately posted a losing record of 54-60-1 and just one playoff win.

After a 9-8 season and the healthy return of quarterback Anthony Richardson, the fourth pick in the 2023 draft who showed promise last year before suffering a third-degree AC joint sprain in his right shoulder in his fourth game, ending his season, expectations are high for 2024.

Still, there are questions about Ballard's future, and the GM was asked if he feels like he's on the hot seat in 2024.

“No different than any other year,” Ballard responded, according to ESPN’s Stephen Holder.

Ballard, who came to Indianapolis after 17 years with the Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs, added this later.

“The fact that we haven't made the playoffs the last three years is a disappointment. I'm not going to sit here and say it wasn't. But I still believe strongly in what we do, how we do it and how we get there. … You either believe in something or you don't believe in anything. It's easy to waver and do what the world wants you to do. You either believe in something or you don't. That's what we believe in.

“It's going to get me fired, so be it.”

In Ballard's defense, the Colts were on an excellent trajectory after his second season (2018), when head coach Frank Reich and quarterback Andrew Luck led the team to a 10-6 record and an AFC Wild Card victory.

But Luck, who struggled with injuries during the 2019 offseason, suddenly retired the following August (for very legitimate reasons, as ESPN's Seth Wickersham exclusively detailed in December 2022).

Indianapolis has since played quarterback roulette, with Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and Richardson starting the year as QB1 over the next five seasons. Gardner Minshew, now the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback, started most of 2023 in Richardson's place.

The Colts are obviously hoping that Richardson is the answer to their long-term quarterback problems. As Holder noted, he is simply a very important building block for the team's present and future.

“Indianapolis' success this season will depend in large part on the development of quarterback Anthony Richardson, who is in his second year. The Colts hope he will hit the ground running after returning from an injury that limited him to four games as a rookie.

“Similarly, Ballard's tenure may ultimately be tied to Richardson's success or failure in the long run.”

The good news is that the Colts have a good roster, much of it back after a 9-8 season. And they appear to have a great head coach in Shane Steichen, the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator who led Indianapolis to a win despite the loss of Richardson (and posted a five-win improvement starting in 2022).

We'll soon see how things go in Indianapolis when the team welcomes the Houston Texans to the city for the season opener on Sunday, September 8th.