It hasn’t felt like the Colts have been in playoff contention for some time, but the team was still mathematically alive heading into Thursday night’s game between the Jets and Jaguars.
The slim chance that they’d advance to the postseason died when the game was over, however. Jacksonville’s 19-3 win seriously wounded the Jets’ playoff hopes and officially put an end to the Colts’ chances.
That means it is now time to look ahead to what promises to be an offseason of change in Indianapolis.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has said General Manager Chris Ballard’s job is safe, although he once said the same thing about former head coach Frank Reich. Assuming Ballard does stay, the first order of business will be deciding on who replaces Reich on a permanent basis. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday wants the job, but the team has had three embarrassing losses in a row including last Saturday’s loss after leading the Vikings 33-0 in the first half.
From there, the Colts will have a call to make at quarterback because they’ve now benched Matt Ryan twice this season and neither Sam Ehlinger nor Nick Foles feels like a player they’re going to build around in 2023 and beyond. They’ll almost certainly have a top 10 pick that could be used on a quarterback, but the coaching decision will have to be made before they move onto how to fill the most important position after years of riding a carousel without success.
