The Colts have signed head coach Frank Reich and GM Chris Ballard to brand new contracts. The extensions will keep both of them in place through the 2026 season.
“In Chris Ballard and Frank Reich, we have as great a General Manager-head coach combination as there is in the NFL, and I can’t tell you how proud I am to have them leading our franchise,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said in a press release.
“I truly believe this football team is on the doorstep of great things, and that’s because of the culture both have cultivated in their time with the Horseshoe. Whether we are marching toward the playoffs or facing adversity, whether we are building our roster or making a difference in the community, we have the ideal leaders in Chris and Frank.”
Ballard spent 12 seasons with the Bears and served asJohn Dorsey‘s right-hand man in Kansas City before joining the Colts in January of 2017. One year later, after the Josh McDaniels mess, he hired Reich. Things have worked out pretty well since then — the Colts have gone 28-20 over the last three seasons with and two playoff berths.
“I really believe that you will see a golden era develop as we go into this decade sitting here in 2021,” Irsay said earlier this year. “I believe it with all my heart and soul. There is good reason to believe it. You talk to people around the league and people that know, they are going to agree with what I’m saying when they look at Chris Ballard and Frank Reich and the expectations going into this decade that we have for both of them leading the team.”
why on Earth would you extend a guy who traded real assets for Carson Wentz
Because if you look at colt life Pre-Ballard/Reich you see the ineptitude of Pagano/Grigson Pagano was a cliche spouting clapping machine, and grigson was a wanna be GM. He fought with Pagano on everything, used first round picks on trash like Bjorn Werner and ruined Andrew Luck. So anyone who could fix the Colts after 5 years of that deserves a lot.
Because he’s also the guy that drafted potential HOF talents in Darius Leonard and Quenten Nelson.
He’s also done a good job finding talent to build the roster from Pittman, Taylor, Hines, Wilkins, Braden Smith, Blackmon, Willis.
Think he’s earned a little bit of trust given his overall success building the roster.
Don’t forget the acquisition of Buckner…that was huge!
Because, as popular as it is for to hate on Wentz, he is normally a quality starter and the Colts did not have a QB. Not to mention that Frank Reich is a much, much better coach than Doug Pederson who is running a much more stable team with a better line.
Grigson-not Pagano-ruined that team with terrible drafting, terrible trades, and inept team management. This is ignoring his clashes with Pagano, including his forcing of contradicting offensive coordinators and picks, because those guys left when he did. He did deplete the roster entirely, minus T.Y. Hilton, leaving his successor with a bad team. Ballard rebuilt that team, and did so methodically without giving up huge assets until this past year. The Colts don’t owe massive amounts of dead money on holdover contracts, which is something that not even quality teams can say.
I can say easily that Ballard’s done the best job of any GM in the NFL the last five years. They needed it, because Grigson was easily the worst GM I have personally ever witnessed (despite the risk of appearing hyperbolic in the last two sentences).
@DarkSide830. There isn’t enough space here to list all the bad decisions made by your guy Howie Roseman so why would you take a shot at Ballard? I think Chris is one of the better GMs in the league and the Bears probably regret they let him get away and hired the clearly inferior Ryan Pace.
Man, I am tired of your inane negativity, find somewhere else that appreciates your stupidity .
the fact of the matter is that Wentz is absolute refuse at the QB position and you cant win without QB play that’s at least competent. im half joking about the overall assessment of Ballard, but my point on the move stands.
For being an afterthought in the wake of the McDaniels fiasco and the sudden retirement of a star QB, Reich has turned out to be an excellent hire. Well deserved extension
They really lucked in my mind when McDaniels backed out. Reich looks to be a great hire.
Because the Colts have built a side foundation and have solid talent on both sides of the ball. Chemistry at QB can be a game changer. Wentz has injuries but was a leader that the team was looking for.
ask Eagles players the type of leader Wentz was and you wolnt be too happy with what you hear.
Most of them said that was B.S., but sure.
I’ve been watching the All or Nothing about the Eagles, which of course is limited perspective-wise. What I can say is that Wentz seems much brighter than he is portrayed to be, and seems to mesh well with his teammates. Ertz maybe isn’t, but Wentz certainly is.