Colts Must Make Organizational Changes In 2025
Source: Kara Durrette / Getty
INDIANAPOLIS – If Jim Irsay is serious about his franchise sniffing the upper quartile again, it’s time for him to stop lying to his fan base.
No, Chris Ballard is not a “blue chip GM,” as the Owner said just weeks prior to the start of the 2024 season.
A “blue chip GM” would not be at the helm of a franchise for 8 years and have a resume saying: 0 division titles, 1 playoff win and have your own franchise in its biggest postseason drought in 3 decades.
The first order of business for Irsay this offseason is to admit enough is enough with Ballard as his general manager.
That’s the first of (at least) 2 moves the Colts need to make this offseason.
Continuing with Ballard, an archaic roster blueprint and the preaching of culture at every turn has not led to anywhere near the desired results.
In 8 years under Ballard, the Colts have finished in the 16-team AFC in the following places: 13th, 6th, 10th, 7th, 8th, 15th, 9th, 10th (with 1 week left in the 2024 season).
To use a favorite metric of Ballard, the GM has often pointed to point differential as an accurate NFL measuring stick.
Well, the Colts are 18th in that area during his 8-year run as GM (10th in the AFC this year and 22nd in the NFL). The Colts have just 3 wins by multiple scores in the last two years, which ranks 29th in the NFL.
Ballard’s refusal to believe some positions garner more importance than others as bit him.
He waited far too long on a non band-aid move at quarterback, drafted just 3 wide receivers in his first 3 drafts (Daurice Fountain, Deon Cain, Parris Campbell) as T.Y. Hilton’s career came to a halt, wasn’t proactive enough at left tackle as Anthony Castonzo flirted with retirement, swung and missed routinely at edge rusher and cornerback with early picks.
Overall draft stress with a reluctance to use free agency has led to too many gaps on the roster. Continuity has been preached while the results have not warranted such a constant belief.
The culture focus has been an odd one to quantify.
Would a team with a heavy emphasis on culture have a pair of players suspended for multiple games last December during a playoff push?
Would such a culture allow for a young, inexperienced beyond belief, quarterback not realize what the professional standard is as a captain in the National Football League?
Honestly, the Ballard tenure should have ended after the 2022 season, but a contract extension signed in 2021 (through 2026) played a role on Irsay wanting to give another chance to a man the Owner has publicly praised like no other, despite results telling an entirely different story.
Add it all up, and the Colts have watched 25 other teams win a division title, including every team in the AFC South winning multiple ones, since the Colts last did.
A total of 21 teams have won a playoff game since the Colts last did some 6 years ago.
Saturday is the 10-year anniversary of the Colts last hosting a home playoff game.
Is Irsay ready to admit his GM doesn’t deserve a 9th crack at this?
The other change the Colts need to make as the calendar moves to 2025 comes on the defensive side of the ball, where Ballard has had ample say during his time.
Ballard has long been a believer in the 4-man fronts used by Matt Eberflus and now Gus Bradley.
The Colts have been very content with simpler defensive schemes.
Well, the results have been hardly anything resembling a playoff caliber defense, especially under Bradley.
In 3 years under Bradley, the Colts have ranked 29th, 29th and (currently) 27th in points allowed per game.
The Colts are the worst tackling team in the NFL under Bradley by a wide margin, and have allowed endless career days in 2024.
Joe Mixon (most rushing yards in 3 years) and Josh Jacobs (most rushing yards in 2 years) started it in Weeks 1 and 2.
A mightily struggling Trevor Lawrence hit the Colts for a career-day in Week 5.
The lowly Jets scored their most points of the season against the Colts. The lowlier Giants scored their most points in 9 years against the Colts. And let’s not forget the Patriots, currently holding the No. 1 overall pick, falling just a point short of their season-high against Bradley’s Colts.
An overall acceptance of “bend but don’t break” often flips field position, if nothing else, putting the offense into some less than favorable situations.
Even Steichen would admit the challenge of facing a Bradley-style defense is nowhere near as taxing.
On Monday, Steichen asked what he likes about a Bradley defensive system, with the two parties having history together dating back to their days with the Chargers.
“Like I said, he’s been doing it for a long time,” the head coach began. “He brings great energy to those players. I’ve known Gus over the years. His system, the way he teaches it, obviously things haven’t been perfect, we all know that. They haven’t been perfect on offense. They haven’t been perfect on a lot of areas. But, yeah, we will go through that, look at the system, look at the scheme and have those conversations at the end of the year.”
Clearly, there’s not a lot of ringing conviction for what Bradley is providing the Colts systematically.
Personnel questions need to be had defensively, too, but the overall system is way too stale for modern-day NFL.
Simply, a 4th year of Bradley is not needed, and this is why I questioned his retention last offseason, too.
Debates about canning Shane Steichen (under contract through 2028) and pulling the plug on Anthony Richardson are inevitable, particularly if Irsay believes a GM change is needed.
For me though, Ballard and Bradley are the biggest current culprits.
That’s where things need to start for the organization to tell their fan base they actually care about being elite again, and not being so willing to accept mediocrity.
