Colts GM Chris Ballard: 'I Didn't Do My Job Good Enough'

The third-year Indianapolis Colts general manager offers several blunt assessments on what went wrong in a 7-9 season, starting with blaming himself, but added he's not discouraged despite being upset.

INDIANAPOLIS — As he took stock in a disappointing 7-9 season and the direction of his franchise, Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard didn’t mince words about himself on Thursday.

He was quite candid in his assessment of several players, from much-maligned quarterback Jacoby Brissett to kicker Adam Vinatieri to tight end Eric Ebron, among others.

First and foremost, Ballard blamed himself for the team’s demise, despite the fact the Colts had to adjust overnight to the unexpected retirement of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck and was beset by continual injuries at key positions.

All that said, if the Colts finish a couple drives and make two or three key kicks, Ballard acknowledged the narrative on a 10-6 season might be different. The Colts were just 5-6 in one-score games.

“All of it starts with me,” Ballard said.

And that doesn’t sit well with him as he prepares for his fourth season.

“No, it guts me,” he said. “It pisses me off, to be honest with you. I’m pissed at myself for not giving our coaching staff enough depth during this season because we had a real opportunity to do some pretty cool things this year, and I didn’t do my job good enough to give them enough depth for us to succeed. That bothers me.

“Saying that, let me preface this too now, I’m pissed but I’m not discouraged. There is hope. We have a lot of good, young players on this roster. We’ve just got to continue to add.”

One player who won’t be back is Ebron, who didn’t replicate his 2018 Pro Bowl season with a career-high 14 touchdowns, had at least a half dozen drops, complained about not being more a part of the offense and then had his request granted to be placed on injured reserve with ankle injuries that required surgery after playing in just eight games.

“We’ll probably move on,” Ballard said succinctly.

Then the GM said no more on the subject, a clear indication of his discontent with the tight end.

Much like head coach Frank Reich said on Monday, Ballard reiterated his faith in Brissett and proclaimed him the Colts’ starting quarterback moving forward. But he left the door open on adding another passer to improve competition at the position. While he thought Brissett did some good things, Ballard reiterated what everyone including the quarterback realizes, that he needs to be more consistent.

Ballard also emphasized he won’t force the issue in the draft or free agency, that adding another quarterback will have to be the right player and the ideal situation.

Brissett received a two-year, $30 million extension with $20 million guaranteed when Luck retired. But one of the reasons Ballard paid for just two years is the reality that Brissett still has a lot to prove. That didn’t change after this season, in which he had modest success in a 5-2 start but struggled for much of the remainder of the season, be it missing open receivers, failing to spot them or holding the ball too long.

Ballard also said he didn’t regret sticking by kicker Adam Vinaitieri, who missed a career-high 14 kicks, including six extra points. The Colts had two tryouts for kickers and came away each time thinking Vinatieri, who was dealing with a knee injury, was still the best option.

Vinatieri ended up on injured reserve and his replacement, rookie Chase McLaughlin, made five of six field goals including two from 50 yards as well as all 11 extra points.

On the day after the regular season ended with a 38-20 loss at Jacksonville, McLaughlin received a one-year contract extension along with wide receiver Zach Pascal and tight end Mo Alie-Cox. The move suggests the kicking job is McLaughlin’s moving forward, although Ballard said there will be discussion with Vinatieri at a later date. Vinatieri is recuperating from surgery on his left knee.

At no position were the injury issues more prevalent than wide receiver, where the Colts saw free-agent addition Devin Funchess play only one game before suffering a season-ending fractured collarbone, rookie Parris Campbell endured four injuries before being placed on IR and Chester Rogers also ended up on injured reserve. Four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver T.Y. Hilton endured a calf strain that cost him six starts. He still led the Colts with 45 receptions and five TD catches and his 501 receiving yards ranked second to Pascal’s 607.

A defense that faded in December from an inability to defend the pass to players not communicating properly with each other was also cited. But the GM spoke with confidence about young defenders who will get better and improve in 2020.

That said, he's got some work to do.

“It’s our job to fix it,” Ballard said. “It’s my job to make sure we’re holding the right people accountable, including myself in areas that I have fallen short, and that we get the thing moving again in the right direction.

“Bad seasons happen. Bad moments happen. Things don’t go the way you planned them to go. You’ve got to meet those head on and you’ve got to accept it. You can’t put your head in the sand and act like everything is OK. You’ve got to accept it, then you’ve got to find answers to the problems.”