It was easy to predict that the Indianapolis Colts would do something after blowing a two-score lead in the second half at home to the 0-5 Tennessee Titans, and sure enough, they have fired GM Chris Ballard, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, ending his decade-long run with the club.

Colts relieved Chris Ballard of his duties as General Manager.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 19, 2026

For many Colts fans, this firing is long overdue. Sure, Ballard built some good teams, but he never built a team that advanced past the Divisional Round, only made the playoffs twice in nine years entering the 2026 campaign, and ended his tenure 10 games under .500. He should've been fired a long time ago, but now that he's gone, the Colts can, and must, begin to undo some of the mistakes that got him canned to begin with, starting with firing the other key member of the organization's staff, head coach Shane Steichen.

Firing Chris Ballard should lead to Shane Steichen's exit

There are two reasons for this. First, I think it's important to have a general manager and a head coach fully in alignment and on the same timeline. The new general manager should be able to pick a new head coach. Second, and more importantly, what has Steichen done to keep this job?

I mean, he's gone 27-30 in parts of four seasons, and has not made the playoffs a single time. The Colts have had some good moments, even going 9-8 in his first year on the job and starting last season 8-2 (before losing nine straight, choking away a playoff spot), but the bad (like going 4-9 in one-score games since the start of the 2025 season, for example) has outweighed the good.

And it's not as if the team's offense (his side of the ball) is playing well amid the losing. It looked great in 2025 before Daniel Jones' season-ending injury, but it looks absolutely horrific now. Steichen has not gotten the most out of his team (clearly, if they're losing to an 0-5 division rival at home), and the offense is a disaster. If the Colts aren't at least considering firing Steichen (even if it's likely he'll be a good offensive coordinator somewhere else), something is wrong.

The Colts must end the Daniel Jones experiment ASAP

Bringing Daniel Jones back after he played the best football of his career before his season-ending injury in 2025 made some sense. There were concerns about whether he'd be able to repeat his breakout, but I did understand the desire to re-sign him. Unfortunately, Jones has reverted completely to his New York Giants form, to the point where he should really be benched right now.

Steichen says that won't be happening, so the least we can do is hope that Jones is cut this offseason. Cutting him would lead to the team taking on a hefty cap hit, but that shouldn't matter. The Colts need to acknowledge the fact that he is not their future under center and attempt to find the individual who is.

The Colts should trade Anthony Richardson before it's too late

And that individual almost certainly isn't Anthony Richardson, the worst draft pick of the Ballard era. Ballard used the No. 4 selection on Richardson in the 2023 NFL Draft, and that pick couldn't have aged more poorly than it has. Not only has it been a struggle for Richardson to stay on the field when he's been given an opportunity to play, but he's played bench-worthy football, with more career interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11).

The Colts decided a couple of years ago now that Richardson is not their franchise quarterback, yet he's still around for really no reason other that I can think of other than Ballard trying to save face and avoid the humiliation that comes from trading his former blue-chip prospect for a Day 3 pick. Now that Ballard is gone, the Colts need to end the Richardson era. It's time to fully reset, putting the past in the past. That includes letting Richardson go, even if there's the slightest chance he figures it out in another city.

The Colts need to recoup as much draft capital as they can after their Sauce Gardner disaster

With the Colts playing good football, Ballard went all-in to try and win in 2025. And by all-in, I truly mean all-in. He traded not one, but two first-round picks as well as Adonai Mitchell, who was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft not even two full years prior, to the New York Jets to acquire Sauce Gardner, a cornerback whose play had taken a step back and was owed a truckload of money after signing an extension with New York.

The Colts wound up going 1-7 (and Gardner missed four of those games) after the team acquired him, and have gone 2-4 this season, meaning they're 3-11 since trading two first-rounders for Gardner, which is impossible to fathom. The Colts can't undo that trade, but they can try their hardest to recoup draft capital.

That means tearing the roster down. As painful as this might be to hear, Jonathan Taylor should probably be gone. The Colts should probably listen to offers for Quenton Nelson. Guys like DeForest Buckner, Josh Downs, Keenan Allen and Grover Stewart, who are on expiring contracts, should be dealt. They won't be able to get their own first-rounder back, but the Colts can, and should, acquire a ton of draft capital to help them build for the future.