Should Chris Ballard be fired?

[2006Coltsbestever]

3 simple choices. 

[stitches]

Yes. Not today and not during the season, but after the season - yes.

[RollerColt]

I voted yes. I'm sorry. But there's been a common denominator in this QB mess regardless of who's on the coaching staff. 

 

We should've done a full rebuild with this team after 2022. Trade away players for picks, and then use those picks to move up to #1 in the draft and picked Stroud. 

 

Stroud was always the QB I wanted... And before Stroud, I wanted Jordan Love. 

 

Here we are...  

[tfunky14]

no

[Colt.45]

Yes. You cannot preach accountability and have this train wreck. Cannot rock with that.

 

Think of yourself as an owner, what things would you want your team to be? Write a list of maybe 3 major things, 7 to 10 minor ones. Look at that list and see whether Ballard is passing, I am going to be clairvoyant and say the answer is NO.

 

 

[John Hammonds]

Not yet.  We'll see what he does with this situation, and how it turns out.  I'm sure that this kind of combination of bad play and immaturity was always built into the risk factors when he was drafted.  John Lynch wasn't fired at San Francisco because the Trey Lance pick went bust.  He recognized it, dealt with it, and moved on.  Ballard may have to do the same.  We'll see what he does.

[Indyfan4life]

Yup. Bye bye.

[jemack]

Only if they let the fans interview and choose the candidate to replace him. Because we know what's best for this team... 

[shasta519]

It's pretty obvious at this point. Should have been fired after 2022. But I won't say it's a given until it happens.

[Smonroe]

Average GM (you are your record), but a good and mostly honest guy.

 

It still comes down to your franchise QB.  Unless you have one, no GM is going to be 'good'.

[chad72]

Not yet, that is why I voted No. He should be given 1 more year in 2025 to see his AR project through with more tools to improve him with Steichen in the off season, now that they know more about the task on hand, for on the field work and off the field intangibles. If, after 2025, we aren't fighting tooth and nail for the division and win it, he should be let go. He would have had a decade to win the division, starting with the 2016 off season.

[RollerColt]

17 minutes ago, John Hammonds said:

Not yet.  We'll see what he does with this situation, and how it turns out.  I'm sure that this kind of combination of bad play and immaturity was always built into the risk factors when he was drafted.  John Lynch wasn't fired at San Francisco because the Trey Lance pick went bust.  He recognized it, dealt with it, and moved on.  Ballard may have to do the same.  We'll see what he does.

Key difference with Lynch is getting results. 

 

His first two years the team was rebuilt going 10-22. But after those two years the team took off:

 

13-3 and a Superbowl appearance in 2019. 

 

6-10 in 2020 (rough year and bad QB play)

 

10-7 in 2021 with an NFC Championship appearance

 

13-4 in 2022 with another NFC Championship appearance

 

12-5 in 2023 with another Superbowl appearance. 

 

He's amassed a winning pedigree while still developing QBs and moving pieces around. 

 

I was a Ballard believer but the results are there. The 49ers are what a winning franchise looks like. Same with the Steelers. They're just always well built and well run machines in the NFL. 

 

[Patrick Miller]

Imo it’s time for a change.

[chad72]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

I voted yes. I'm sorry. But there's been a common denominator in this QB mess regardless of who's on the coaching staff. 

 

We should've done a full rebuild with this team after 2022. Trade away players for picks, and then use those picks to move up to #1 in the draft and picked Stroud. 

 

Stroud was always the QB I wanted... And before Stroud, I wanted Jordan Love. 

 

Here we are...  

 

Should have done that after 2019 season. Would have been gutsy for not going after Rivers but would have ripped the band aid off earlier, IMO. Unfortunately, Frank Reich was the coach and he probably had a hand in getting the familiar QBs in Rivers and Wentz, and the Colts eventually paid the price. We should have taken 2 steps backwards for 4 steps forward THEN.

[RollerColt]

Just now, chad72 said:

 

Should have done that after 2019 season. Would have been gutsy for not going after Rivers but would have ripped the band aid off earlier, IMO. Unfortunately, Frank Reich was the coach and he probably had a hand in getting the familiar QBs in Rivers and Wentz, and the Colts eventually paid the price. We should have taken 2 steps backwards for 4 steps forward THEN.

Yeah, I mean in hindsight you absolutely just tear everything down leading up to the 2020 season. 

 

But they felt the team was just missing a QB and all would be well. I wasn't upset with the idea of Rivers being our QB. Always loved him and he was what we needed for that season. But we should've done what Atlanta did and pair him with a future invested QB. Sit the kid, have them learn from one of the all time greats in Philip and then have them take over the reins once Rivers retires. 

 

Instead... well we know what happened... 

[chad72]

7 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Yeah, I mean in hindsight you absolutely just tear everything down leading up to the 2020 season. 

 

But they felt the team was just missing a QB and all would be well. I wasn't upset with the idea of Rivers being our QB. Always loved him and he was what we needed for that season. But we should've done what Atlanta did and pair him with a future invested QB. Sit the kid, have them learn from one of the all time greats in Philip and then have them take over the reins once Rivers retires. 

 

Instead... well we know what happened... 

 

The fact that they didn't make a hard push to get Rivers back also suggests they wanted to go younger, so why not have done that and gone younger, before Rivers, if he was never going to be a long term solution?

 

[RollerColt]

1 minute ago, chad72 said:

 

The fact that they didn't make a hard push to get Rivers back also suggests they wanted to go younger, so why not have done that and gone younger, before Rivers, if he was never going to be a long term solution?

To that question. I've got nothing. 

 

My baseless theory? They didn't have a plan. At least not long term. 

[Colt.45]

What is Chris Ballard's philosophy on the game of football?

 

Are the Colts showing any of it?

 

*Multiple coach/QB cycles in. 

[Flash7]

We can do much worse at GM, but it's time.

 

Ballard has had enough time to show he can build a successful team and he has not been able to. At best, we've had mediocrity.

[John Hammonds]

24 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Key difference with Lynch is getting results. 

 

His first two years the team was rebuilt going 10-22. But after those two years the team took off:

 

13-3 and a Superbowl appearance in 2019. 

 

6-10 in 2020 (rough year and bad QB play)

 

10-7 in 2021 with an NFC Championship appearance

 

13-4 in 2022 with another NFC Championship appearance

 

12-5 in 2023 with another Superbowl appearance. 

 

He's amassed a winning pedigree while still developing QBs and moving pieces around. 

 

I was a Ballard believer but the results are there. The 49ers are what a winning franchise looks like. Same with the Steelers. They're just always well built and well run machines in the NFL. 

 

No argument here!  John Lynch has (nearly) consistently made the right choice, over and over.  And the results are there.

 

Just wanted to overlay his quarterback choices over top of the timeline.

When he arrived in 2017, one of his first acts was to divest himself of Colin Kaepernick.  The guy had become a distraction.  Now, you can be a distraction if you are also a Great Player (see Aaron Rodgers).  But he wasn't that.  So... Lynch jettisoned Kaepernick and brought in the best backup QB in the league, Garappolo.

Garappolo played reasonably well for them, while Lynch drafted great players and built a great team around him.  Result:  13-3 and the Superbowl.

And then Garappolo had issues with injuries and some subpar play in 2020, resulting in a 6-10 season.

After that season, Lynch drafted 21 year old Trey Lance with the #3 overall pick.  The kid was raw.  And from a non-powerhouse college.

After 2 years, Lance not only couldn't beat Garappolo for the starting job, he also failed to be good at all.

So....  Lynch understood the writing on the wall and got rid of him.  He also had the courage to hand the ball to the QB who was drafted dead last.  And it worked.

 

Lynch had the good sense (and luck) to acquire Garappolo.

He also had the courage to understand when he needed to move on from him.

He had the courage to draft Lance, even though there were signs that he might not work out.

And he also had the good sense to see that the Lance experiment wasn't working, and to move on.

 

By all measurements, Lynch > Ballard.

And Ballard may wind up with the same choice Lynch did.  To jettison his high draft choice QB and move on.

[Mitch Connors]

1 hour ago, jemack said:

Only if they let the fans interview and choose the candidate to replace him. Because we know what's best for this team... 

Would the Colts have more, less or the same amount Super Bowl wins, playoff wins and division titles if I was the GM for the last 6 years instead of Ballard?

 

Its a pretty safe bet we wouldn't have more post-season success under my fandom-led guidance but its 1000000% a fact that it wouldn't be less.

[Superman]

This latest disruption is symptomatic of deeper issues. Not only should Ballard go, everyone should go. The entire front office and coaching staff. And Irsay should hire a President of Football Ops to run the entire operation. 

 

 

[Superman]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

Key difference with Lynch is getting results. 

 

The Niners have one of the best rosters in the NFL and have been to the SB twice. That's why Lynch wasn't fired when his QB didn't work out.

[RollerColt]

Just now, Superman said:

 

The Niners have one of the best rosters in the NFL and have been to the SB twice. That's why Lynch wasn't fired when his QB didn't work out.

Isn't that what I said in my post? 

 

He's had results. He's had success. 

[Superman]

2 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Isn't that what I said in my post? 

 

He's had results. He's had success. 

 

I'm agreeing with you, sorry I didn't make that more clear. It's just a bad comparison to begin with. John Lynch and Chris Ballard started at the same time. They've had the same primary obstacle -- lack of a franchise QB. Yet the Niners have an amazing roster and two SB appearances.

 

I think people have been unfair to Chris Ballard for a long time. I don't think he's a terrible GM. But there's a problem with this organization, and it needs to be burned out of the building.

[SLILLINGTON10]

I think it's time for a change. Not just because of the AR situation, but because I don't know what the vision is. He seems to always be working a 5 or 6 year plan. Meaning last year was a 5 year plan and this year should be a 4 year plan but nope still 5 to 6 years away. Nothing is getting closer. Also, we have consistently been one of the teams with the most available salary cap.... what has he been saving the money for? When you are this far into a tenure and there are most questions than answers, it's time for a change.

[RollerColt]

23 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

I'm agreeing with you, sorry I didn't make that more clear. It's just a bad comparison to begin with. John Lynch and Chris Ballard started at the same time. They've had the same primary obstacle -- lack of a franchise QB. Yet the Niners have an amazing roster and two SB appearances.

 

I think people have been unfair to Chris Ballard for a long time. I don't think he's a terrible GM. But there's a problem with this organization, and it needs to be burned out of the building.

The thing is, Lynch inherited a pretty rough 49ers team in 2017 as well. They only won 2 games in 2016. The culture was starting to shift negatively with all the Chip Kelly stuff. He was able to take two seasons of rough play and was able to build a championship roster. 

 

I think in the early days it was unfair to criticize Ballard. He deserved a second chance with the Luck stuff.  

 

But by this point, with so much sickness in the building metaphorically, it's just time to change. There's been a toxic cloud over the team for years now and he and Irsay are the only common denominators. 

[runthepost]

Yes, he’s gone. We have been nothing but middle of the pack. Also this is the second time Irsay made a team decision over ballard and Shane 

[GoColts8818]

If the Colts are giving up on AR, which appearances say they are despite what they were saying, then yes.  I think Ballard has done a really nice job bringing in talent but he’s failed miserably at the most important position.  Is that all his fault?  No it’s not but when you are the GM you don’t get to escape blame when that position fails over and over.   I think Ballard’s biggest failure as a GM is he wouldn’t take a swing for a QB in the draft unless it was the perfect guy.  So he waited and waited and let other teams take swings until he was forced into drafting one and was probably forced to pick between two high probable busts rather than forcing the issue and getting a guy that had a better chance of working.  
 

I said yesterday I wonder what would have happened had Irsay highered Ballard rather than Grigson because Luck was that can’t miss QB.  I think he would have done a great job putting talent around Luck and a better job than Grigson and this team would have been successful like it was when Polian did that for Manning.  With that said clearly Irsay didn’t so we will never know, also Ballard wasn’t thought of as a GM candidate back in 2012 so it’s not realistic.  

[RollerColt]

52 minutes ago, Superman said:

This latest disruption is symptomatic of deeper issues. Not only should Ballard go, everyone should go. The entire front office and coaching staff. And Irsay should hire a President of Football Ops to run the entire operation. 

 

 

LMAO I had to do a double take and check the date. I thought Irsay had posted this last night. 

[GoColts8818]

10 minutes ago, runthepost said:

Yes, he’s gone. We have been nothing but middle of the pack. Also this is the second time Irsay made a team decision over ballard and Shane 

Has this been confirmed?  I saw some speculating here that this came from Irsay but I haven’t seen that reported anywhere but I’ll freely admit I could have missed it.

[runthepost]

3 hours ago, John Hammonds said:

Not yet.  We'll see what he does with this situation, and how it turns out.  I'm sure that this kind of combination of bad play and immaturity was always built into the risk factors when he was drafted.  John Lynch wasn't fired at San Francisco because the Trey Lance pick went bust.  He recognized it, dealt with it, and moved on.  Ballard may have to do the same.  We'll see what he does.

He went to a Super Bowl before Lance. Also their roster is stacked compared to us.

[Mr. Irrelevant]

4 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

3 simple choices. 

I was coming into this topic assuming that you had put 

Yes

Yes

Yes

…. In as the options. 

[runthepost]

1 minute ago, GoColts8818 said:

Has this been confirmed?  I saw some speculating here that this came from Irsay but I haven’t seen that reported anywhere but I’ll freely admit I could have missed it.

Richardson was interviewed and said Shane didn’t give him a reason on why he was benched. Also that press conference was a mess. This came directly from Irsay whose health is probably deteriorating (speculating) and wants to see the colts in the playoffs one last time if it’s near the end.

[GoColts8818]

1 minute ago, runthepost said:

Richardson was interviewed and said Shane didn’t give him a reason on why he was benched. Also that press conference was a mess. This came directly from Irsay whose health is probably deteriorating (speculating) and wants to see the colts in the playoffs one last time if it’s near the end.

So you are speculating got it.

[hambone35]

Yes along with Bradley as well 

[jemack]

1 hour ago, Mitch Connors said:

Would the Colts have more, less or the same amount Super Bowl wins, playoff wins and division titles if I was the GM for the last 6 years instead of Ballard?

 

Its a pretty safe bet we wouldn't have more post-season success under my fandom-led guidance but its 1000000% a fact that it wouldn't be less.

Lol

[lollygagger8]

This team is what you get when your drafting prowess revolves RAS scores 

[ColtAndOrioles]

I said he should have been fired 5 years ago.

So to answer your question.  Yes.

[Superman]

1 hour ago, RollerColt said:

LMAO I had to do a double take and check the date. I thought Irsay had posted this last night. 

 

This was nearly three years ago. Two HCs ago, five starting QBs ago. And it's just as true now as it was then.