Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard enters his eighth season leading the front office, and this will be a crucial year for his tenure.
During his time as general manager, Ballard has made the postseason twice and has one playoff win coming all the way back in 2018 with Andrew Luck.
A lot has happened over the course of his tenure, including surviving the firing of Frank Reich and the disastrous 2022 season.
Thus, Ballard was ranked by Patrick Daugherty of RotoWire 16th among NFL general managers.
Chris Ballard has been surviving Jim Irsay since 2017, with varying degrees of success. Acclaimed early in his tenure, Ballard was in danger of being swallowed whole by the Irsay vortex in 2022, with the erratic owner ordering the mid-season firing of coach Frank Reich and replacing him with his buddy Jeff Saturday. The darkest of times for a general manager, but Ballard came out the other side with elite draft capital and a seemingly chastened boss. Ballard was allowed to make an upside draft pick in Anthony Richardson and meat-and-potatoes coaching hire in Shane Steichen.
The project seems all the way back on the rails following a 9-8 2023, though it’s still been a while since Ballard had a truly inspiring draft. The truth is, Ballard might not still be around were it not for his owner’s dysfunction, but that same dysfunction makes it difficult to evaluate a GM whose early years were undeniably positive. We need more time. A quieter Irsay appears poised to provide it.
Ballard certainly enters a year in which he needs to prove the Colts are heading in the right direction. They have the necessary pieces in place, and much of it will depend on the development of Richardson in his second season.
After missing out on the postseason the last two years and failing to win a division during his tenure, a lot is riding on the 2024 season.
For more Colts coverage, check out Kevin Hickey’s work on Sporting News.
