The Colts’ Firing of Chris Ballard Can Be Traced Back to One Lingering Problem

The Chris Ballard era in Indianapolis has come to an end.

As announced by owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon on Monday morning, the Colts have relieved their longtime general manager of his duties after 10-plus seasons at the helm. 

“I am grateful to Chris for his years of service to the Colts and for everything he poured into this organization,” Irsay-Gordon said in a statement. “He cared deeply about our team and our community, and we wish Chris and his family all the best.

“As I said at the start of the season, the sense of urgency has never been higher. Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard. Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now. We will conduct a thorough search for our next general manager and take the time necessary to identify the right leader for the future of this organization.

“I also want to be clear: This decision does not change our goals for the season. We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve and win football games.”

After opening the 2025 season with an impressive 8–2 record, the Colts lost their final seven games and missed the postseason for a fifth consecutive year. They’ve now started 2026 just 2–4 and, in Week 6, blew a 13–0 halftime lead to a Titans team that had yet to win a game this season. 

The loss was seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Ballard is now out, with a 72–82–1 record since his hiring in 2017.

While his tenure as Colts general manager was marred by an accumulation of poor decisions—one of the more notable was to mortgage the franchise’s future in last year’s trade deadline deal for Sauce Gardner—Ballard’s firing can ultimately be traced back to one lingering problem.

An endless QB carousel since Andrew Luck’s retirement

All was well in Indianapolis from 2012 to ’18. After releasing franchise legend Peyton Manning in March 2012, the Colts immediately found their next quarterback in Andrew Luck, selecting the former Stanford signal-caller with the No. 1 pick in the draft. Luck quickly burst onto the scene, setting an NFL rookie record with 4,374 passing yards while leading the Colts to an 11–5 record and an AFC South title. He would go on to bring Indianapolis to the playoffs three more times, earn four Pro Bowl nods and establish himself as one of the best young quarterbacks of his generation.

Then, on Aug. 24, 2019, everything changed.

Dealing with an accumulation of injuries and an inability to stay on the field, Luck stunned the NFL world by announcing his retirement from football at just 29 years old. The decision was commendable, as Luck was putting his health and well-being above all else, but it left the Colts in a tough situation—scrambling for their next quarterback just 15 days out from their Week 1 season opener against the Chargers.

Ballard’s front office was never able to replace Luck in the long term, and instead dealt with an endless quarterback carousel that ultimately defined the general manager’s tenure in Indianapolis.

2019: Jacoby Brissett and Brian Hoyer

After Luck’s shocking retirement, the Colts handed the reins of their offense to backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who had previously started 15 games with the club while Luck dealt with a shoulder injury. Indianapolis went 7–9 in 2019 and Brissett threw for 2,942 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Fellow journeyman Brian Hoyer, meanwhile, saw time in four games while starting one—a Week 10 loss to the Dolphins. 

2020: Philip Rivers

Looking for a more permanent answer under center heading into 2020, the Colts signed veteran Philip Rivers to a one-year contract worth up to $25 million. The move reunited Rivers with coaches Frank Reich and Shane Steichen, whom he overlapped with during his time with the Chargers.

Rivers started all 15 games for the Colts and, while completing 68% of his passes for 2,169 yards and 24 touchdowns, led the team to an 11–5 record and a spot in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Indianapolis lost to the Bills, 27–24, in the wild-card round and Rivers announced his retirement (which we’ll get to later) shortly thereafter.

This also marked the Colts’ last postseason appearance of the Ballard era. 

2021: Carson Wentz

Another year, another veteran. Carson Wentz—the Eagles’ first-round pick in 2016 while Reich was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator—became the Colts’ next proverbial bite at the quarterback apple. Indianapolis traded a first- and a third-round pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the signal-caller, with hopes that a reunion with his former play-caller would help him recapture his early-career form.

While Wentz started all 17 games, the Colts lost to the lowly 2–14 Jaguars in Week 18 and were eliminated from postseason contention—which led Indianapolis to, again, go searching for a quarterback in the offseason.

2022: Matt Ryan, Nick Foles, Sam Ehlinger

Third time’s the charm? Not exactly. After being able to move off Wentz in a deal with the Commanders, the Colts traded a 2022 third-round pick to the Falcons for Matt Ryan.

After a 3-5-1 start to the season, however, Reich was fired and replaced with interim Jeff Saturday. Ryan, meanwhile, started just 12 games before being benched for Nick Foles. Second-year pro Sam Ehlinger also started three games at various points, going 0–3 while throwing three touchdowns and three interceptions.

2023: Anthony Richardson Sr., Gardner Minshew II

Saddled with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, the Colts selected Anthony Richardson Sr., a toolsy, but raw, dual-threat quarterback out of Florida. After years of relying on veteran stopgaps, Ballard & Co. pushed their chips into the middle on a potential long-term answer under center, and doubled down on their decision by starting Richardson immediately rather than let him learn and develop behind a veteran. 

The Colts went 2–2 in 2023 with Richardson to begin the year and while the quarterback did show some promise, accounting for seven total touchdowns, he also sustained a grade three AC joint sprain in Week 5 and missed the remainder of the season. Gardner Minshew II would take over in relief, and Indianapolis finished the year 9–8—again failing to make the postseason.

2024: Richardson, Joe Flacco

Richardson began the 2024 season as the Colts’ starter, marking the first time since Ballard took over as general manager that Indianapolis entered consecutive seasons with the same quarterback. In a roller coaster season that saw him start 11 games, complete just 47.4% of his passes and turn the ball over 15 times, Richardson’s low point came when he subbed himself out of the Colts’ Week 8 loss to the Texans because he “needed a breather.” 

Indianapolis benched Richardson the following week in favor of Joe Flacco, but lost two consecutive games before handing the offense back to Richardson. He would go on to start the Colts’ next five games and go 3–2, but missed the team’s final two games with a back injury.

2025: Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Philip Rivers

Looking to again shake up the quarterback room, the Colts signed Daniel Jones to a one-year, $14 million contract in the spring of 2025 and declared an open competition between him and Richardson. 

Jones not only won the starting quarterback during training camp, but would go on to help Indianapolis to a 7–1 start behind a historic performance on offense. Soon after, however, the Colts’ season would take a turn, as they lost eight of their last nine games and Jones tore his Achilles tendon in Week 14. With their once-promising quarterback now sidelined, the team made a last-ditch effort to save its season by luring Philip Rivers—yes, that Philip Rivers—out of retirement for the final stretch of the year. While he was impressive for a 44-year-old, throwing for 544 yards and four touchdowns in three games, the Colts went 0–3 with Rivers under center and once they were officially eliminated from playoff contention, started rookie sixth-round pick Riley Leonard in Week 18. 

2026: Daniel Jones

Amid his offseason recovery from Achilles surgery, Jones was transition tagged by the Colts this past March before signing a two-year, $88 million extension with the club. He’s started Indianapolis’s first six games of the 2026 season and thrown for 1,290 yards, with four touchdowns and six interceptions while completing a career-low 59.6% of his passes. 

Needless to say, it’s been a whirlwind for the Colts since Luck’s retirement. Are there other factors that went into Ballard’s firing on Monday? Of course. But failing to replace the franchise quarterback is at the top of the list.