Who should be held accountable for yet another failure of a season for the Indianapolis Colts
With the Indianapolis Colts falling on their face and losing in Week 15 to the Denver Broncos, their chance of fulfilling their goal of punching a ticket to the AFC playoffs has been put on life support. And if the most likely scenario happens where they miss the playoffs, they will have to look in the […]
With the Indianapolis Colts falling on their face and losing in Week 15 to the Denver Broncos, their chance of fulfilling their goal of punching a ticket to the AFC playoffs has been put on life support. And if the most likely scenario happens where they miss the playoffs, they will have to look in the mirror and admit this season and their roster construction is a failure.
This is unfortunate, considering that this year was supposed to be about developing young talent and figuring out what you have in Anthony Richardson. However, the team's handling of his benching publicly moved the goalpost, as they repeatedly told the fans and the world that making the playoffs this year is the most important thing to them.
Well, barring a miracle, that's not going to happen. And due to their own actions, that is now the expectation that their fan base and the national world is putting upon them. So now this season is a failure, and you'd think someone should have to pay the piper. But what does that look like? Who should it be?
Should anyone be fired by the Colts after the 2024 season?
Multiple people are receiving the brunt of the blame online for the Colts' season: general manager Chris Ballard, head coach Shane Steichen, and quarterback Anthony Richardson. While some want to play the pick one to blame and hold accountable game, that hardly works. Still, it seems that if the team wants to make a drastic change this offseason, it has two options: hold one person accountable or start new with a clean slate. The latter is simple: it's moving on from all three, or at least the head coach and the general manager, and bringing in a new regime to decide the fate of Richardson at QB. If you ask me if you are going to make a drastic change this offseason, I think you should go with the clean slate approach. So, if you think Steichen deserves another year, I don't know if it's wise to fire Ballard and bring in a new GM. In my opinion, you want to start a new regimen off on the right foot, and forcing a new GM or head coach to work with an already in-place person isn't a recipe for success. Choosing to just hold one person accountable, though, is tricker and would require some luck to be on the Colts' side. And if you've been paying attention, that's not been in their favor for quite a while now.
Holding GM Chris Ballard accountable
If the Colts elect to take this path, the only logical decision would be to fire the man who has had eight years in his position and has yet to have a team win a divisional title and only made the playoffs twice. That man would be general manager Chris Ballard. Which is the most common person fans blame online. So, say the Colts fire Ballard and decide to interview new GMs with the caveat that they must keep Steichein on as their head coach and, in turn, Richardson as their quarterback. Let's say they wouldn't be the top job available candidates viewed as the cream of the crop this cycle.
Maybe they will find a candidate who values Steichen and Richardson enough to make the arranged marriage work. It would be an outlier, but it's not impossible; it would just take finding the right candidate. If they elect to go this route or even the second, I think their top candidate should be Louis Riddick. I have no idea if he would be interested in Steichen being his head coach, but from how he's spoken about Richardson, it definitely seems like he is a believer in the Colts QB and would believe he could build a roster that can succeed with him under center.
The biggest mistake of Jonathan Taylor’s career seems like the final nail in yet another disappointing Colts season
The Indianapolis Colts' playoff chances are officially on life support following their Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos. What makes this loss sting even more is knowing the Colts were in a position to take a two-score lead in the third quarter, and they fumbled the opportunity, literally. The biggest mistake of Jonathan Taylor's […]
The Colts fumble away a win, the playoffs, and potentially multiple people’s jobs after a terrible Week 15 loss vs. Broncos
The Indianapolis Colts had an extra week to prepare for quite literally the most important game on their 2024 schedule against the Denver Broncos. A win and you feel very confident in your chances to earn a spot in the AFC playoffs, but a loss puts those dreams on the lifeline. They squandered the opportunity and fumbled […]
