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Indianapolis Colts Hire Chris Ballard as their Next General Manager

By Kyle Nishida

Nov 2, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Indianapolis Colts helmet lays on the field after the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Carolina defeated Indianapolis 29-26 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 2, 2015; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Indianapolis Colts helmet lays on the field after the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Carolina defeated Indianapolis 29-26 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indianapolis Colts have found their next general manager. The franchise has picked the Kansas City Chiefs’ director of player personnel Chris Ballard to replace Ryan Grigson.

Owner Jim Irsay fired Grigson on January 21st. Over the next eight days, Irsay interviewed a handful of worthy candidates. One of the candidates included the Colts’ Vice President of Football Operations Jimmy Raye III.

A lot of people felt Raye was the favorite to win the job because Irsay values his opinion. Also, Irsay went outside the organization when he hired Grigson and that did not work out well. As a result, people felt Irsay would not do that again.

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In the end, Irsay went with another person outside of his organization. Reportedly, Ballard was the only candidate to receive a second interview with Irsay, which signified how much he impressed the Colts’ owner the first time.

People around the NFL view Chris Ballard as one of the rising front office people in the league. In the past year, his name had been linked to other general manager openings like with the Tennessee Titans and the San Francisco 49ers.

Ballard has 16 years of NFL scouting experience. He spent 11 seasons as a Southwest area scout for the Chicago Bears before eventually ended up with the Chiefs in 2013.

When Ballard first got to Kansas City, the Chiefs just finished the 2012 season with a 2-14 record. He along with head coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey quickly turned the franchise around. Now, they just finished their fourth-straight winning season.

Corner back Marcus Peters is the most notable player Ballard brought Kansas City. Peters was a controversial first round pick in 2015 that had numerous off-field issues at the University of Washington.

Ballard met with Peters and his family to get a better understanding about the young corner back. After that, he convinced the Chiefs to take a chance on Peters. Since drafting him, Peters has made two Pro Bowls in his first two seasons as a pro.

Withe Ballard joining the Colts, he now faces a new challenge. He needs to rebuild a Colts’ roster that is aging fast and lacking a lot of depth at numerous positions. The good news is he has a Top 10 quarterback in Andrew Luck.

Even with the clear roster issues and a below average GM in Grigson, the Colts have posted two straight 8-8 seasons. Still, there is pressure on Ballard to drastically improve the roster immediately.

Next: Colts: Don’t Let Grigson’s Firing Overshadow Team’s Issues

He has at least six 2017 draft picks and nearly $58 million in cap space to work with. It will be interesting to see how he uses these resources this offseason.

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