Colts fire general manager Chris Ballard after the Titans collapse; Shane Steichen stays

Chris Ballard is out as general manager of the Indianapolis Colts. The club dismissed him on Monday, October 19, one day after a 26-20 home loss to a Tennessee Titans team that had not won a game, ending a tenure of nearly 10 seasons with the club at 2-4 and in danger of a sixth straight year without a playoff trip.

Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon made the call and explained it in a written statement. She thanked Ballard for his years of work and his care for the team and the community, then made clear the timing was her choice. “Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now,” she wrote, calling the in-season move a deliberate decision.

We have relieved Chris Ballard of his duties as General Manager. pic.twitter.com/BleD6bfTsG

— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 19, 2026

What the owner said comes next

Irsay-Gordon said the club will run a thorough search for the next general manager and will take the time it needs to find the right person. She tied the change to the bar she set before the season, saying the sense of urgency in the building had never been higher and that competing for championships is the standard. She also told the locker room that nothing about the 2026 goals has changed and that she expects the team to compete, improve and win games.

Head coach Shane Steichen stays in his job, Tom Pelissero reported. The club did not name who will run the personnel department in the meantime.

Josina Anderson reported that Ballard himself told Irsay-Gordon a change was the right thing for the organization. Adam Schefter reported that Ballard was working in the final year of his contract.

Ballard’s Colts in numbers

• Record: 72-82-1 in the regular season and 1-2 in the playoffs, according to Schefter.
• Postseason: two trips in his tenure. The only win came in his second season, with Andrew Luck at quarterback and Frank Reich as head coach. Indianapolis has not played in January since the 2020 season.
• Draft: his 2018 class brought guard Quenton Nelson and linebacker Shaquille Leonard. In 2023 he took quarterback Anthony Richardson fourth overall.

The quarterback position was the thread through most of it. After Luck retired in 2019, the Colts cycled through veteran starters before Ballard spent the No. 4 pick on Richardson, then turned to Daniel Jones.

How Sunday pushed it over the edge

The Colts led Tennessee 13-0 at halftime at Lucas Oil Stadium and were outscored 26-7 after the break. Jones went 22 of 42 for 269 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, was sacked six times, and has now been charged with nine turnovers in six games. The crowd booed, and Steichen said afterward he did not blame them; he also said Jones remains his starter. You can read the full recap of the loss to Tennessee and Steichen’s postgame news conference.

Steichen went 8-9 in each of his first two seasons, and the loss was the Colts’ second in a row after a 34-22 defeat at Pittsburgh.

What comes next

The Colts visit the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The Game Center has the matchup.