When the Colts last fired a head coach, they turned to former Colts center Jeff Saturday to be the head coach. Now that the Colts have fired G.M. Chris Ballard, the Colts could be turning to former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
On the Monday edition of his daily radio and TV show, Dan Patrick linked the Colts and their Hall of Fame quarterback.
“The Colts’ first call will be/has been to Peyton Manning,” Patrick said. “The call will not only get names and suggestions but the call will explore whether or not Peyton would be interested in being a General Manager of the Colts as an entry point that would include ownership interest in the Colts.
“So now you have an opportunity to put Peyton back in Indy as a G.M. and part owner. And he gets to pick his quarterback. So now all of a sudden, the community is going to love this. The league would love this. Would Peyton love this?”
Mike Chappell of Fox59/CBS4 has since reported that the Colts have not yet reached out to Manning. As Chappell notes, that doesn’t mean they won’t.
The role of G.M. and part owner are distinct. By rules, Manning couldn’t be offered equity as part of the compensation for his G.M. role. But he could separately be invited to buy a chunk of the team at a Tom Brady below-market sweetheart deal.
And the General Manager job would necessarily become Peyton’s professional focal point. He doesn’t do anything halfway, or half-assed. If he’d ever become a G.M., he’d put everything he had into being the best G.M. he could be.
That would likely mean no more ManningCast. It would possibly mean stepping away from Omaha Productions. It’s one thing to spread attention between projects that make money regardless of how much time is devoted to them by the principal in the company; when wins and losses are attached to the effort, a different type of competitive juice begins to flow.
Manning has resisted that temptation since retiring a decade ago. He seems to be fully aware of what he’d do if he allowed himself to re-enter an arena that hinges on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
So while it makes plenty of sense for the Colts to want him now, if Manning wanted to live that life he probably already would be.
Colts Clips
In January, Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon put both coach Shane Steichen and G.M. Chris Ballard on clear notice. On Monday, she fired Ballard.
Steichen, who possibly remains in place only because there’s no viable interim replacement on his staff (and because the Jeff Saturday experiment has already been attempted), addressed the dismissal of Ballard with reporters on Monday.
“It’s the shitty part of the business,” Steichen said, via Stephen Holder of ESPN. “I don’t think it falls completely on Chris. I’m the head football coach. It takes all of us. Coaches, scouts, everybody.”
He’s right, and Irsay-Gordon could be firing everybody, in time. For now, Ballard was the easiest person to replace in response to a devastating home loss to the previously winless Titans.
Barring a turnaround from 2-4 to a playoff appearance, Ballard will soon have company in the category of former employees of the team. And while the absence of a clear choice to serve as interim coach may have saved Steichen for now, it’s hardly a guarantee that he’ll be in the job when the season ends.
Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner may miss some time after departing Sunday’s game due to injury.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Gardner is week-to-week with a mild calf strain.
Gardner exited Sunday’s game in the third quarter. While he came back on the sideline and looked like he was attempting to come back in the game, he wasn’t able to do so.
Acquired via trade midway through last season, Gardner has registered four passes defensed and 17 total tackles in 2026.
The Colts fired General Manager Chris Ballard on Monday and they have named an interim head of their personnel department through the end of the 2026 season.
The team said, via multiple reporters, that assistant GM Ed Dodds will take over those responsibilities. Head coach Shane Steichen and the rest of the staff outside of the personnel department will report to ownership under the interim arrangement.
Dodds has been in his current role since 2018 and he joined the Colts shortly after Ballard was initially hired in 2017. He has interviewed for GM openings with several teams in recent years.
One of the first orders of business for Dodds to deal with is the November 10 trade deadline. With the 1-5 Colts starting to look to 2027, there will likely be calls from other teams trying to pluck players from their roster and the Colts will have to decide how many pieces they’re willing to part with in exchange for assets that can help a new regime try to build a winner in the future.
In January, Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon put both coach Shane Steichen and G.M. Chris Ballard on clear notice that things had to improve in 2026. Sunday’s loss to the previously-winless Titans shows that not nearly enough improvement has been made.
And now the Colts are 2-4. After last year’s 8-2 start, they’re 3-12.
In lieu of firing both Steichen and Ballard, Irsay-Gordon opted to make the move that will have the lesser impact on the team’s ability to try to turn it around. There’s no clear option on the roster to take over as interim head coach. Unless the team goes off the board (like it did when bringing in Jeff Saturday four years ago), it would be hard to make an interim hire that could try to move the Colts into position to win the AFC South.
They’ll still need to stabilize the front office, which currently is laying the foundation for the offseason plans in 2027. Those plans, however, will change once the Colts hire a new G.M. — who, if the eventual G.M. is currently working for another team, will carry into the building impressions and strategies regarding the players to target in free agency and the draft.
The first order of business will be to hire a new coach, unless Steichen turns it around. The job becomes more attractive if the new G.M. has a clean slate. Every G.M. has a personal list of coaches with whom the G.M. would like to partner. Unless the next G.M. coincidentally has “Steichen, Shane” at the top of that list, the half-measure (for now) eventually will become a full overhaul of the organization.
Anything less than a playoff appearance will result in that overhaul. The only hope for the 2026 Colts will come from the firing of Ballard lighting a fire.
The first chance to show some spark comes in six days, when the Colts visit the 5-0 Vikings in Minnesota.
The Colts have made a major change in the wake of Sunday’s loss to the Titans.
Owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon announced that they have fired General Manager Chris Ballard. Ballard had been in the job since 2017 and made the playoffs twice in his first four seasons, but have not been back since 2020 while cycling through a number of different quarterbacks.
That led Irsay-Gordon to say this offseason that improvement was needed, but Sunday’s loss dropped the Colts to 2-4 on the season and became the final act of his tenure.
“I am grateful to Chris for his years of service to the Colts and for everything he poured into this organization,” Irsay-Gordon said in a statement. “He cared deeply about our team and our community, and we wish Chris and his family all the best. 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. Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now. We will conduct a thorough search for our next general manager and take the time necessary to identify the right leader for the future of this organization. I also want to be clear: this decision does not change our goals for the season. We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve, and win football games.”
Head coach Shane Steichen remains on the job, but he’s clearly on thin ice moving forward with Ballard already gone.
The Colts signed Daniel Jones to a two-year, $88 million extension in the offseason, even though he was returning from a torn right Achilles. It does not currently look like a good decision, but coach Shane Steichen is not wavering on Jones as his starter.
“I love Daniel, but we have to clean up the turnovers,” Steichen said after the 26-20 loss to the Titans, via Stephen Holder of ESPN.
Jones has multiple turnovers in three games this season and nine total turnovers after throwing two interceptions against the Titans.
“I don’t think it’s been consistent enough. I think, certainly, today wasn’t consistent enough,” Jones said.
The Colts have 2023 first-round pick Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard behind Jones. Steichen, though, said the Colts are not making a change.
“He’s our starting quarterback,” Steichen said of Jones.
When the Colts traded their first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, they thought they were adding one of the final pieces of the puzzle to a team that could win the Super Bowl. That year the Colts lost in the wild card round, they haven’t been back to the playoffs since, and Buckner is getting sick and tired of losing.
An emotional Buckner told reporters at his locker after today’s loss to the Titans that he won’t tolerate it.
“I’m sick and tired of the same song and dance every year,” Buckner said. “We lost to the Tennessee Titans, who were 0-5, and now they’re 1-5.”
Asked specifically if he means that he has lost confidence in coach Shane Steichen or General Manager Chris Ballard, Buckner said that’s not what he means.
“I have confidence in everybody in this building,” Buckner said.
Still, Buckner says he wants more out of his teammates.
“Every single person on the team needs to be critics of themselves and figure out what we need to do better,” Buckner said.
The Titans are officially in the win column.
The seats have gotten even hotter for Colts head coach Shane Steichen and General Manager Chris Ballard.
Tennessee defeated division rival Indianapolis for its first win of the season and the first win of the Robert Saleh era on Sunday, using a strong defensive performance with timely special teams plays to register a 26-20 victory.
After tying the game at 13-13 with Carnell Tate’s first career touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter, the Titans took a 20-13 lead with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.
While the Colts responded with a 4-yard touchdown by Jonathan Taylor, the Titans used a big kick return to set up a go-ahead field goal. The club added another field goal to go up by six, which proved to be an insurmountable lead.
Tennessee’s defense picked up three takeaways on the day with two Daniel Jones interceptions and a Taylor fumble. That, along with the special teams touchdown, put the Titans in position to win, despite Indianapolis outgaining Tennessee 399 to 186. The Colts also had 24 first downs to the Titans’ 11.
Jones finished 22-of-42 for 269 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He also had 30 rushing yards on three attempts. The Titans sacked him six times.
Taylor finished with 94 yards on 21 carries with a TD, plus two catches for 57 yards.
On the other side, Cam Ward was 11-of-22 for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Tony Pollard had 76 yards on 19 carries. Carnell Tate led with 70 yards on six catches.
In the win column, the 1-5 Titans will be at home next week to face the 4-2 Browns.
The Colts are now off to a disappointing start at 2-4. With Ballard in the last year of his contract and Steichen failing to make the postseason in any of his previous three seasons as coach, job security for both men is firmly in question.
The Titans have used special teams to get a fourth quarter lead.
Tennessee blocked a punt deep in Indianapolis territory, with Oluwafemi Oladejo picking up the loose ball and returning it 14 yards for a touchdown.
Running back Julius Chestnut was credited for the punt block.
Tennessee’s defense has come up big on Sunday, coming up with three takeaways — two Daniel Jones interceptions, one Jonathan Taylor fumble.
Now the club also has a special teams touchdown as it tries to win its first game of the season.
