For the fourth straight season, Chris Ballard held a year-end press conference on the heels of his team missing the playoffs. For the fourth straight season, Ballard leaves a regular season with Colts fans clamoring for him to be fired. This season, however, the clamor has intensified to an all-time high. Ballard’s record in Indy is 62-29-1 and this lack of production probably warrants the Colts going in a different direction.

On January 5th, Colts owner Jim Irsay announced that Chris Ballard would return in 2025. Therefore, the assumption is that Ballard will not get fired this season, but will have one last season to save his career. Unfortunately, Chris Ballard’s year-end press conference did not tell Colts fans anything new, but he did provide some interesting insight.

Three Takeaways from Ballard’s Year-End Press Conference

Competition Will Be Coming

One of the first questions Ballard was asked was regards to the quarterback situation. In the last four years, the Colts have had seven different quarterbacks start games. Some of that was due to injury, but a lot of it was also due to inefficiency. In the press conference, Ballard stated that competition would be coming. For it is a competition that creates better players.

Ballard did not give a definitive on if he would bring in free agents. However, Anthony Richardson will probably have some sort of competition this offseason, whether that is Joe Flacco, Sam Ehlinger, or someone else. The indication is clear that Richardson is still the hope to be the Colts franchise quarterback, but he is still very young and needs time to learn and grow. Ballard mentioned that Richardson was benched this past season because he needed to “breathe” and “take a step back”.

For the first time in his NFL career, Richardson will have the entire offseason to get ready to play instead of rehabbing. On this note, Ballard mentioned that Richardson has to get healthy and be a player who can prove that he can play 17 games. Through two seasons, he has shown that he is injury-prone. Therefore, the Colts will need a lifeline who can salvage their season if needed. Ballard did not give any indication of who, how old, or how experienced the potential competition would be. Nonetheless, competition is coming.

Accountability Will Be Happening

Another big point that Ballard brought up during his press conference was having better accountability. Throughout this franchise’s history, the Colts organization has been stable and prided on accountability and character. Something happened this season, though, and it appears that accountability was lost.

Ballard mentioned something profound that DeForest Buckner said about the Colts organization. When asked about the team’s defense, Buckner stated that the issue was “ego”. He said, “Everyone needs to check their ego at the door…At times I felt like there was just a bunch of individuals out there playing football”. Buckner never gave any names and Ballard did not either. However, the message was sent loud and clear that this team needs a culture change within the locker room. The culture change begins with Ballard by bringing in men who fit the culture and believe in what the Colts organization stands for.

There is no indication that major cuts or releases are going to come this offseason. However, it should be expected that the guys who put their ego above the team will be under fire this offseason.

This Should Be Ballard’s Make or Break Year

Ballard is expected to start his ninth season with the Indianapolis Colts. By all accounts, this year will be his make-or-break year. If the Colts miss the playoffs for a fifth straight season, Ballard’s tenure with Indy will be done. Therefore, if he wants to save his career and outlook with the fans, he must, not only get this team to the playoffs but win in the playoffs. This is certainly a tall order for Ballard, given his current personnel situation. Nonetheless, the Colts are 18th in cap space in the NFL right now with over $38M. Therefore, they have the resources to bring talent into the building. They also have a lot of potential with their young playmakers like Alec Pierce, Adonai Mitchell, Josh Downs, and Laiatu Latu.

The 2025 season will be a good indicator of what type of organization the Colts want to be. Chris Ballard’s year-end press conference showed that he knows what is wrong in Indy and he has a plan to make things right. The issue will be whether all of the pieces will fall into place to have a winning culture once again. If the Colts want to win and win big, major changes will have to come. Ballard will need to put his own ego and stubbornness aside to create a winning culture in Indianapolis.

Main Image: Clark Wade – USA Today Sports

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