Chris Ballard on Friday emphatically took responsibility for the current state of the Colts, opening his end-of-the-season press conference by listing off where his team has fallen short since he was hired as general manager in 2017.
“Just disappointed, extremely disappointed,” Ballard said. “I hear the criticism, and it’s warranted. It is. And a lot of that falls on my shoulders.
“Look, (in) four years we’ve not gone to the playoffs. We’ve not won a division since I’ve been here, not won a playoff game since 2018. I’ve got to own all that, I do. I’m not going to run from it, but I’ve definitely got to own it because it’s real. It is the truth.”
Since the Colts’ 2024 season ended with an 8-9 record – punctuated by crushing defeats to the Denver Broncos in Week 15 and New York Giants in Week 17 – Ballard has spent time reflecting on his team-building approach. When asked if he felt like he let his philosophy become too rigid, he firmly replied: “Yeah, I did.”
Specifically, Ballard echoed comments made on Monday by defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, who said players became complacent in 2024 due to a lack of team-wide competition for roles and playing time. After nearly winning the AFC South in 2023, the Colts re-signed several of their own free agents last offseason and only added two backups – quarterback Joe Flacco and defensive tackle Raekwon Davis – as outside free agents.
“I’m emotional and I care about our players, and I think sometimes I’ve let that bleed into how I built the team,” Ballard said. “Coming off a year last year when we were 9-8, I thought the arrow – I thought we were playing really good football at the end of the season. We lost a tough game at the end to Houston, could have gone either way. I’m thinking, ‘Okay, we’re trending up.’ Instead of really creating competition throughout and throwing new blood into the locker room, new players into the locker room, I said, ‘You know what? We’re going to…
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