Chris Ballard doesn’t want to get ‘canceled’ after he ‘failed’ Colts

Colts general manager Chris Ballard has been hearing — and acknowledged — the criticism after his team finished 4-12-1 and secured the fourth-overall pick.

The first words he greeted reporters with at his end-of-season press conference were, “Look, I failed.” He added that criticism regarding his job was “warranted.” Then, Ballard pivoted to talking about how “failure’s not allowed” in the NFL world and what happens when failure does occur, like throughout this past Colts season.

“When you fail in this world, you get canceled and everybody wants your head,” Ballard said. “And rightfully so, in some cases. But if you’re able to go through it and learn from it, you can reach your greatest heights.”

Ballard said that he’ll lead the search process for a new head coach, but reiterated that owner Jim Irsay will have the final say. Jeff Saturday, who took over on an interim basis after Reich’s firing and managed just a 1-7 record after taking over for Week 10, will be a candidate for the position, Ballard said.

It was a “very unusual process” to finalize the hiring of Saturday — who had no NFL coaching experience — and the firing of Reich, Irsay previously said. Ballard said Tuesday that he “voiced my concerns” to Irsay when Saturday took over, offering his worry about the “unprecedented” move.

After Indianapolis defeated the Raiders in Saturday’s first game, Ballard even thought, “OK, we got a shot here to maybe rebound this thing.” But everything spiraled from there. The Colts didn’t win again. Jonathan Taylor was injured. Quarterback play — from Matt Ryan to Sam Ehlinger to Nick Foles — was everything but consistent. Indianapolis finished with its worst record since 2017.

“I don’t worry about getting let go and fired,” Ballard said. “I do the best I can, and even the best-laid plan sometimes, even the best-thought-out plans, they don’t work sometimes.” 

When asked about the hiring search, Ballard didn’t mention other names besides Saturday. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Monday that four requests submitted by the team were for coordinators Shane Steichen (Eagles offensive coordinator), Ben Johnson (Lions offensive coordinator), Aaron Glenn (Lions defensive coordinator) and Raheem Morris (Rams defensive coordinator).

Ballard said he doesn’t want to start the search “with an end in my mind.” It could take until the middle of February, he added, but he doesn’t care. It’s about getting this hire right, even if it leads back to Saturday.

“You can’t do wholesale changes when you come in Week [10],” Ballard said. “That stuff starts in April. Your vision and everything you want to do, that starts in April and that’s built over time and over years.”