Stampede Blue
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
With just three games remaining in the 2024 season, the Indianapolis Colts are all but eliminated from playoff contention.. again. They are currently slated with the 12th pick in the upcoming NFL Draft and are once again sitting in the same position they’ve been in since the unfathomable collapse that was the 2021 season.
It’s as evident as ever that change needs to be made, but how much and who specifically needs to go remains the unanswerable question. It’s quite easy for some fans and analysts, just burn it all down and start anew. But how feasible is it to suggest a full-fledged teardown?
It is possible that the Colts could follow suit with the Detroit Lions’ blueprint and hire an entirely fresh set of faces for both the coaching staff and front office once the season is officially said and done. Perhaps it is that easy. However, it took decades after decades worth of trial and error for the lovable losing Lions to see the light.
With that being said, what is the best course of action in order for Indianapolis to right its wrongs as a franchise? There are a plethora of hypotheticals to ponder, but the two biggest culprits sit at the top of the totem pole: Owner Jim Irsay and General Manager Chris Ballard.
Chris Ballard is at the forefront for all possible blame due to the sheer amount of responsibility that falls on him, whereas Jim Irsay oversees the very job that he [Ballard] signed up for. A lot of people, myself included, have questioned the patience and subsequent meddling from Irsay that may or may not have presented itself over the years. Although, perhaps Irsay’s biggest flaw is actually having too much trust and patience in his decision-makers.
There’s no doubt that under Irsay’s reign, the Colts have seen worse days than they’ve seen better. Peyton Manning may have single-handedly breathed life into generations of Colts fans who had previously valued basketball above all, but once upon a time, it was Jim Irsay who brought in Bill Polian, the guy who surrounded Manning with multiple Hall of Famers and All-Pros as far as the eye can see.
That was a long time ago, no doubt, but therein lies proof that Irsay is capable of making the right hire. It’s what has followed that unreal era that’s preventing confidence in Irsay moving forward.
Irsay followed up that wildly successful era with Ryan Grigson, who, in turn, did the exact opposite of what Polian accomplished. Both Grigson and Polian began their tenures with the hardest task already settled for them (i.e., Manning, Luck), with the former turning their goldmine of an opportunity into a flourishing business, whereas the latter banked on his young QB year after year to pick up the slack.
Despite a trip to the AFC Championship and two divisional titles in two of the first three years under Grigson,...
