Colts hire Chris Ballard as GM [Merge]

[Tsarquise]

I hope he drafts pass rushers in every round.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

I like the bottom two paragraphs. 

[braveheartcolt]

I'm so excited and this was the obvious choice. I have been quietly watching tv footage of all the GM's over the past few days, and Ballard has all the tools. His pen grip is lock solid, his wrist movement when signing contracts is flamboyant and he finishes his signatures with a flick of the wrist, and he even twirls round in his seat and head butts the keyboard when sending emails. 

 

Definitely the best candidate for the job. No wonder this forum is so excited.

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, Majin Vegeta said:

I like the bottom two paragraphs. 

Luckily I can read it but I have x-ray vision . Just kidding but the words are so little I doubt most people can read that. Great stuff though.

[MB-ColtsFan]

2 minutes ago, braveheartcolt said:

I'm so excited and this was the obvious choice. I have been quietly watching tv footage of all the GM's over the past few days, and Ballard has all the tools. His pen grip is lock solid, his wrist movement when signing contracts is flamboyant and he finishes his signatures with a flick of the wrist, and he even twirls round in his seat and head butts the keyboard when sending emails. 

 

Definitely the best candidate for the job. No wonder this forum is so excited.

Pffft!  You scout like Grigs!  His seat twirl is slow and he lacks sustained strength through the signature.  We failed miserably here...our picks will only be short term deals.

[Andrew Luck fan club]

4 minutes ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

Luckily I can read it but I have x-ray vision . Just kidding but the words are so little I doubt most people can read that. Great stuff though.

Just click it! 

[LockeDown]

Someone posted something similar weeks ago.  This draft plus FA could and should net us 3 or 4 starters.  That is a big turnaround if they are all defense.  A good RB as well and we are in a much better place.  To be fair, I believed that even with Grigson in charge.  However, my hope now is Ballard actually builds the true monster for Pagano.  .

[dw49]

1 hour ago, Superman said:

 

Like I said, I know what some have said recently. I don't think it's good information.

 

And who is Luke Diamond?

 

 

Who is Luke Diamond  ???? You've got to be kidding me. Cracklin' Rosie , Sweet Caroline , Solitary Man, Holly Holly ... need more ? Geez.....

[braveheartcolt]

5 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

 

Who is Luke Diamond  ???? You've got to be kidding me. Cracklin' Rosie , Sweet Caroline , Solitary Man, Holly Holly ... need more ? Geez.....

Don't forget the one he sang for our mascot......

[CR91]

40 minutes ago, bluebombers87 said:

40+ sacks in a season and nearly 3 sacks a game (which places us 28th in the league using that criteria in terms of QB protection) is not what I would call fine.

 

Watch the actual game instead of looking at stats

[dw49]

5 minutes ago, braveheartcolt said:

Don't forget the one he sang for our mascot......

 

Kentucky woman ? Forever in bluejeans ? I give......

[WoolMagnet]

I hope Ballard's first order of business is to ban "Dayyyy -OOOO" from the stadium FOREVER !

[cclaser]

I really like this hire.  Very sad about the prospect of our mediocre HC continuing.   Pagano and an easy upcoming schedule is a license for slightly better than average in the future.  We do not have a Super Bowl caliber coach, and that's apparently good enough.      

[NewColtsFan]

3 hours ago, bababooey said:

Chuck is literally on a hot seat from hell. With his back completely against the wall we will see what he does.

 

He'll either survive or he won't.    It's literally that black and white.

 

As of today,  I'd put his chances at less than 50/50,   but I wouldn't say he's a lock to be fired.

 

He'll get a fair chance and hopefully he makes the most of it.     If not,  good luck to Chuck as he moves on.

 

[Colts1324]

4 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

sounds like what was said about Grigson when he came here, doenst it?

Actually many people were stunned(including myself) when Grigson was hired as the GM. Didn't have nearly as much experience as some of the other candidates. 

[buccolts]

52 minutes ago, dw49 said:

 

 

Who is Luke Diamond  ???? You've got to be kidding me. Cracklin' Rosie , Sweet Caroline , Solitary Man, Holly Holly ... need more ? Geez.....

 

Umm,.... Neil, but you knew that, right?

You were just goofing(?)

[dw49]

15 minutes ago, buccolts said:

 

Umm,.... Neil, but you knew that, right?

You were just goofing(?)

 

 

Yes sir.

 

BTW.. I'm old enough to remember Neil Diamond when he was young.

[Colts1324]

4 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Right, or wrong.   Fair, or unfair.    This is Chuck's reality.    And he's going to have to make the best of it.

 

This will be Season 6 for Chuck.    Clearly he has the backing of the owner otherwise, he'd be unemployed right now.      But he's not.     So, he gets a year to prove himself to the new GM.       This is exactly what happened to Jim Caldwell.     Detroit hired a new GM and gave Caldwell a year to show what he could do.     Caldwell did a good job and the new GM kept him.       So firing Pagano is not a slam dunk certainty.

 

I'd say it's much more likely to happen than not.    But not 100% for sure.

 

Good Luck, Chuck.      Good Luck, Colts.     If it doesn't work out,   then we'll be back in a year to find out who replaces Pagano.     This is life in the NFL. 

 

Congrats to everyone!         

Very well said. I agree. Life in the NFL is tough. The game is a business. I do hope Pagano proves us all wrong for the sake of our franchise next year! 

[buccolts]

1 hour ago, dw49 said:

 

 

Yes sir.

 

BTW.. I'm old enough to remember Neil Diamond when he was young.

 

O.K, just wanted to make sure.

You had me worried there.

 

BTW, me to. But I think he died musically around '71.

Edited January 30, 2017 by buccolts

[Corndog]

I am much more excited for the draft with Ballard as GM.  

[Bubbz]

Just gotta keep choppin wood. 

[GoColts8818]

He looks like a good hire on paper and is who I wanted.  Time will tell if it was the right hire though.

[WoolMagnet]

32 minutes ago, Bubbz said:

Just gotta keep choppin wood. 

We're choppin, meanwhile NE has a chainsaw.

[AZColt11]

Fine by me.

[dgambill]

15 hours ago, Superman said:

 

Like I said, I know what some have said recently. I don't think it's good information.

 

And who is Luke Diamond?

Neil's son??? Only reason I could understand listening to his podcast would be to catch a few of his fathers tunes lol.

15 hours ago, Superman said:

 

I pointed out actual reasons why I didn't believe that guy, for instance, the fact that he was tweeting high praise for Grigson in 2013, but claims he thought Grigson was totally unqualified and should never have been hired... The guy is slimy, and it's obvious.

 

As for Grigson's standing in the league, he actually interviewed with multiple teams before the Colts hired him. It's revisionist history to act like he was some unknown, dark horse candidate that no one had ever heard of and no other teams were interested in.

Supes I think you should just save your breath. Getting anyone but a select few to believe that Ryan wasn't a total unqualified * that screwed up our roster and was a total waste is basically impossible. I mean people here would believe he never had a single decent signing and the only good draft picks were handed to him. 

You ever heard the verse not to cast your pearls to the swine...well something tells me your wisdom is often wasted on this site lol. 

There are some of us that knows that Grigson was a mixed bag but he was abrassive and didn't manage relationships inside the building well and that wouldn't matter if we were winning but when we weren't that put a microscope on his mistakes...then add yet another surgery for Luck and I think that was the straw that broke the camels back. The cupboard wasn't left totally bare and the cap is in good shape...I appreciate his effort but I hope now we have a guy that can finish the job of building the monster Chuck invisioned...now can Chuck do anything with it will be the question.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Superman
language filter

[Mr. Irrelevant]

LOL, I'm out of likes for the first time ever here, so I guess you can tell that I'm pretty darn delighted! 

 

[NewColtsFan]

7 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

Grigson was not a glorified scout....and no one at the time said he didn't have the resume

That's revisionist history

....and don't kid a kidder.....Do you really believe Ballard will be give 2 or 3 years to make an impact like he should be?

 

Huh?      What?

 

Your sentence in bold seems to imply that if Ballard doesn't deliver in one or two years then he'll be out of a job?

 

You're not serious are you?    (Please say no.....)     

 

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

7 hours ago, LockeDown said:

Grigson was able to find diamonds in the rough, he just wasn't able to make the easy picks (1st round...Werner, Trent, Dorsett)  and he didn't build a team with identity and chemistry.  ...

 

This so much! 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

4 hours ago, Majin Vegeta said:

I like the bottom two paragraphs. 

 

Out of likes, so thanks. 

 

From what I have read, I get the feeling that Ballard and Raye III could turn into a dynamic duo. Both speak out their mind, so at the very least they are in the same page on that front. Irsay is dumb as a fox. 

[RockThatBlue]

8 hours ago, SaturdayAllDay said:

Well we still have Jimmy raye, so i think having two guys with strong resumes is going to really help this team. Im excited!! 

Is Jimmy Raye going to stay?

[RockThatBlue]

7 hours ago, richard pallo said:

Agreed.  And if Chuck makes the playoffs I don't think he will get fired. This actually could be the start of a real great run for the Colts.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if this tandem works out perfectly.  

I think Chuck will need to do more than get to the playoffs. If we are a first round exit (especially if its a blowout) I'd be surprised if he was brought back. He will need to win a playoff game or 2, and not be blown out IMO. 

[Chucklez]

11 hours ago, Solon said:

Hopefully he's able to get us some good players. We're not that far off ladies and gentlemen. We're not that FAR off. A couple of play-makers on the defensive side of the ball and we're back baby!

I wouldnt go that far... our D is quite far off..... It needs at least 2, probably 3 solid drafts before you can say we are a force... And that is without the offense degrading at all either.

[David Dunbar_3575]

This hire is a very good replacement coming a little longer then needed! Yet in regards that IRSAY was willing and had gave GRIGSEN plenty lee way and money helped to convince Ballard his future was being a Colt! Was his best choice. Chris knows he will have Jim fully engaged! He will have the keys t fully lead the Colts in his direction to succeed! I'm beyond the belief by most media cast of our Colts franchise! BALLARD understands and has the skills and tools to get things on track! The man could have stayed put or taken any GM position so him coming to the Colts bodes well. Better days are coming the new GM is holding the reins! 

 

[SaturdayAllDay]

52 minutes ago, RockThatBlue said:

Is Jimmy Raye going to stay?

I am under the impression that he will be here for this off-season at least. The reasoning being that Ballard shouldnt really blow up our scout staff and do interviews for new people while they are supposed to be doing the bulk of their off-season work. It would be like blowing up the roster and trying a full scale rebuild during the preseason. For that reason I think that Raye wont be shown the door. We might see a whole overhaul as early as this summer with our scouting team, but I think we going with what we have until camp starts up. 

 

There is always the possibility Raye feels slighted by not getting the GM position and could want out but I dont really think there are any positions left out there that would be considered a promotion for him so I would think he is better off staying for the year and trying for another GM interview next off-season. 

 

At the end of the day its just educated guesses on my part And there are rumors contradicting my thoughts, saying that Ballard wants to bring in his own guys ASAP and such. I think we will know more after the press conference, as we should get some form of confirmation on if there are going to be immediate staffing changes, or at least if staff is going to be under review immediately, leaving the possibility open for changes. 

[SaturdayAllDay]

3 hours ago, NewColtsFan said:

 

Huh?      What?

 

Your sentence in bold seems to imply that if Ballard doesn't deliver in one or two years then he'll be out of a job?

 

You're not serious are you?    (Please say no.....)     

 

 

Hes just saying that regardless of what happens there will always be SOMEONE that will complain about draft picks, because so-and-so was on THEIR board and was available, etc. and that it wont take 2-3 years before it starts up.

 

More speaking to the ridiculousness of this (and every other) forum that sometimes comes out. Which im sure we can ALL relate to. 

[jszfunk]

Just curious how many of you knew who he was before being hired here.

[RollerColt]

50 minutes ago, jszfunk said:

Just curious how many of you knew who he was before being hired here.

I did, but a good portion of my family ardently love the Chicago Bears. I'm a little fond of them myself to be honest. They weren't too happy when Ballard left for Kansas. 

[Tsarquise]

Ballard, make the horse shoe great again!

[lollygagger8]

14 hours ago, MTC said:

 

 

[Tsarquise]

Ballard, make the horse shoe great again!