When the news broke that Chris Ballard would be returning for Season 10, I felt numb. The depth that triggers the big event isn’t that deep, which is what I was expecting. Over the past five years, my expectation has been indianapolis colts There will be a search for someone else to lead the franchise as general manager. That goal hasn’t been achieved yet, so maybe it’s time to accept that it never will.
Okay, that last sentence is a bit dramatic. Let me back up a little bit.
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After learning that Ballard’s service would remain on West 56th Street, I purposely did not write much. It’s not that I’m afraid of a knee-jerk reaction, but I want to think about it a little more carefully to see if I feel differently. I don’t. My initial feeling was from an ownership perspective. With a new owner on board, it makes sense to maintain stability in the new year. It makes sense to look at Ballard and Sean Steichen in that light. That being said, overall, I really like this move.
Ballard has always been a cat with nine lives. It seemed to me that he was forty-one years old. Life for a cat in the NFL is a little like life for a dog. They tend to move faster. A person usually doesn’t have that many opportunities to prove himself. Success is manifested through wins, and wins are the straw that stirs the drink. Nothing more. No matter how nice a person is, how hard they work, how well they treat others, if they don’t win, life will be short.
But not Ballard’s. Ballard has experienced a lot of stumbling blocks, and I think it’s fair to say, even shortcomings. From a plethora of high-end draft busts, to a lack of finding top players at advanced positions, to no division championships, the list goes on. That’s acceptable for a PeeWee team leader, but his record won’t get him far at other levels of football, especially the NFL. Unless you consider the Colts.
Listen, Chris Ballard’s day will come one day. It’s not that I have any hopes for him, because as always, I really, really want him to succeed. This is me stating a fact. Even the greatest people are eventually replaced. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath anymore. When it’s supposed to happen, it happens, and there’s nothing to indicate that the next person will do it better. No one knows, but can we at least see what happens if we try?