4 minSports
Colts Fire GM Chris Ballard After 2-4 Start, Dakich Says Move Is 'Seven Years Too Late'
The Indianapolis Colts dismissed general manager Chris Ballard six games into the season, a day after a home loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans. Outkick host Dan Dakich, a longtime critic, said the decision should have come years ago.
The Indianapolis Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard six games into the regular season, the team announced, a day after a 26-20 home loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans. The move ends a tenure that began in January 2017 and produced just two playoff appearances and no AFC South titles.
Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said the timing was deliberate. «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,» she said in a statement. «Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now.»
The Colts are 2-4, and the loss to Tennessee — a team that had not won a game this season — appeared to be the final straw. Ballard's record in Indianapolis included just one postseason victory, in 2018, and a draft record that critics say has yielded few impact players since running back Jonathan Taylor.
Dan Dakich, the Indiana broadcaster and host of «Don't @ Me,» has argued for years that Ballard was not the right fit. He reacted to the news by saying the franchise waited far too long. «Well, the worst general manager in the history of the NFL just got fired,» Dakich said. «Look, this is seven years too late.»
Dakich said he had questioned the hiring on social media the day before the firing, tagging Irsay-Gordon after the Titans loss. «How did I know this a long time ago and none of you did?» he said, adding that he had reached that conclusion while watching the team's appearance on «Hard Knocks» five years ago.
He pointed to a lack of playoff success — Indianapolis has not reached the postseason in five years — and to what he described as questionable spending and a strained relationship with fans. «No, this guy was a sh–show from the beginning,» Dakich said.
The decision places the Colts among the NFL teams making in-season leadership changes, a step that ownership framed as necessary to begin a search for a new direction immediately rather than at the end of the year. Indianapolis has not won the AFC South since Ballard took over, and its two playoff trips under him ended in one win and one loss.
For a franchise that has cycled through quarterbacks and coaches during Ballard's tenure, the dismissal shifts attention to who will run the personnel department next and whether the roster can be reshaped quickly. Irsay-Gordon's statement made clear that ownership sees the standard as competing for championships, not merely reaching the playoffs.
Dakich's criticism reflects a broader frustration among parts of the fan base that has grown during a run of mediocre seasons. His remarks also highlight the pressure on ownership to show urgency in a division that has remained competitive. The Colts now face the rest of the schedule with an interim structure in the front office and questions about the direction of the team.
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