Jim Irsay Bringing Back Chris Ballard, Shane Steichen

Source: Justin Casterline / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS – Jim Irsay’s latest example of rewarding mediocrity, which is actually an unfair compliment, came just hours after the final chapter on another season without playoff football concluded.

Chris Ballard is getting a 9^th year.

Shane Steichen is getting a 3^rd year.

Irsay buried that lead in the second to last paragraph of his season-ending letter to Colts fans, which he sent out on Sunday evening, after the Colts finished 8-9:

“Dear Colts fans,

As we close out this season, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that we failed to win the AFC South and earn a playoff appearance.

There’s a high standard in this city for our team and anyone who steps on the field wearing the Horseshoe. The expectation is to win our division and compete for championships. Just being on the doorstep of the playoffs is not the standard I expect, nor what you deserve. We understand that and always accept the challenge.

Believe me, I know you share my impatience and frustration. I know you invest your time, energy, and money into the Colts every year. More than anything, we want to reward you with division titles and playoff runs, and we’ve fallen short in the most painful ways possible.

But things evolve quickly in the NFL from week to week and season to season, so I will never stop being optimistic that this team can take the next step!

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.

I know fans who want an immediate change in leadership will be disappointed. That means we all have a lot to prove, so we’ll get back to work and keep doing what we can to earn your support and make you proud to be a Colts fan.”

Many debated whether or not Ballard, specifically, would continue to have a leash as long as just about any NFL GM has received, given the lack of substance on his resume.

To remind everyone, that Ballard resume is now 8 years in with 0 division titles, 1 playoff win, 2 playoff appearances.

Ballard’s AFC finishes, in a 16-team conference, are as followed:

-2017: 14^th (26^th strength of schedule)

-2018: 6^th (30^th strength of schedule

-2019: 10^th (13^th strength of schedule)

-2020: 7^th (29^th strength of schedule)

-2021: 8^th (30^th strength of schedule)

-2022: 15^th (18^th strength of schedule)

-2023: 10^th (28^th strength of schedule)

-2024: 9^th (31^st strength of schedule)

Irsay’s statement on Sunday included the phrase “the expectation is to win our division and compete for championships.”

Nothing says those words leading to continued action like running it back for a 9^th year with a man who has yet to win the worst division in football, while the other 3 AFC South teams have all won the division multiple times in that span.

Irsay later stated that “just being on the doorstep of the playoffs is not the standard I expect.”

How close are the Colts?

Well, they have missed the playoffs in 4 straight seasons (26 teams have made the playoffs since the Colts last did). They haven’t won a playoff game in 6 seasons (21 teams have won a playoff game since the Colts last did; a number that could increase this postseason).

They haven’t beaten a quality quarterback in ages (hide your eyes if you want to look at the list of QBs the Colts have beaten in the last year-plus). They were a minus 62 in point differential against the 7 playoff teams they faced this year. Their 8 wins in 2024, all by one score, came over 6 teams drafting in the top-10, plus a backup QB-led Dolphins (Tyler Huntley and Tim Boyle) and a backup QB-led Steelers (Justin Fields). The Colts didn’t beat a team drafting outside of the top-10 with their starting QB this season.

What Irsay’s statement on Sunday told Colts fans, indirectly, is the standard of this franchise has changed.

Amidst the franchise’s longest playoff drought in 3 decades, Irsay is standing by a GM that has wildly underperformed.

Irsay even threw in an exclamation point towards the end of his letter to fans.

But things evolve quickly in the NFL from week to week and season to season, so I will never stop being optimistic that this team can take the next step!

Is it better to be optimistic or realistic?

This letter had zero “why” of Irsay stating reasons for conviction behind Ballard or tangible evidence on why things are about to be different.

Eyes need to be rolled if/when we hear “it’s all about winning” or “all chips in” or any other such statement.

How much of this Irsay decision is rooted in finances (Ballard is under contract through 2026, with Steichen just halfway through a reported 6-year deal), the Owner adamant about being right or a lack of desire in running a GM search?

Back in 2017, Ballard was hired in Indy alongside new general managers in Kansas City (Brett Veach), Buffalo (Brandon Beane) and San Francisco (John Lynch). While Ballard has won 0 division titles, had 1 playoff win and made 2 playoff appearances in his 8 years, those other 3 have combined for 15 division titles, 28 playoff wins and 19 playoff appearances (an average of 5 division titles, 9 playoff wins and 6 playoff appearances for each GM), and 6 trips to the Super Bowl.

What is the definition of upper quartile again?

Reading Sunday’s letter leaves one in a state of confusion in searching, without actual finding, of why such bottom quartile results continue to be rewarded.