Ballard and Steichen get to continue developing Anthony Richardson
At nearly 8:30 PM Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay posted the following announcement online via his Twitter account:
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) January 6, 2025
Regardless of how you feel about this decision the fact that Irsay made it now and cut off any speculation of potential moves going forward is a positive. For a team that has had it’s share of struggles in communicating of late this feels like a win for the public relations department, even if the news that was delivered will be unpopular.
What this means going forward is that Jim Irsay still believes in the Anthony Richardson experiment and he is giving both men another opportunity to develop a wildly talented, but painfully raw 22 year old quarterback. And if you still believe in the quarterback, which it seems that Irsay does, then you can’t move on from the two men most responsible for bringing him in. That just wouldn’t make sense. Ballard and Steichen sold Irsay on the vision of developing Richardson and if Irsay believes in the player, it means he believes in that vision.
Fans will no doubt be frustrated with this decision but Indy ended the season one close loss to the Texans away from winning the AFC South. If Anthony Richardson makes even a small improvement next season it’s reasonable that they will be able to compete in the south. It was foolhardy to believe that a team lead by a 22 year old quarterback with 13 college starts would lead an NFL team to the playoffs in his first full year starting. In fact to start the season most pundits correctly pointed out that the results of this season were less important than Richardson’s development. As the season played on it became apparent that the team was closer than they probably should have been to being a contender for the AFC South and the late season losses became far more disappointing as a result. But the fact remains that the Colts never should have been counted on to go to the playoffs with what was essentially a rookie starting at quarterback.
In the past 15 years here’s a list of starting quarterbacks under the age of 23 who have led their team to a playoff berth:
2023: C.J. Stroud- 22 years old
2019: Lamar Jackson- 22 years old
2012: Andrew Luck- 22 years old, Robert Griffin III- 22 years old
continued…
— Chris Shepherd (@NFLscheme) December 22, 2024
Only four quarterbacks under the age of 23 in the past 15 years have led their teams to the playoffs and while it would have been great for Anthony Richardson to have become the fifth name on that list, that list includes two Heisman winners and an all time great prospect. Richardson is a raw prospect who is still figuring out how to play the position. It just wasn’t in the cards for Indy this season.
It seems that Irsay agrees with that assessment and Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen will get at least one more season to implement their vision. But if the Colts are sitting at 7-9 a year from now on the outside of the playoffs, even I am going to have a hard time telling you that Ballard and Steichen should return.
What is less certain are the other coaches on the Colts’ staff. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and his staff seem likely to be let go after several really bad performances and noted poor defensive effort from the teams leaders. But Mr. Irsay nor the team have made any announcements regarding any coaching changes they might make in the coming days, so for now we wait and anticipate the coming moves that Black Monday so often bring.
Be sure to check back in for ongoing coverage of any Colts coaching changes that might be coming.
As always, go Colts.