Shane Steichen on Ballard Firing: 'It Takes All of Us'

Shane Steichen took his share of the blame out loud. A day after the Colts lost at home to the previously winless Titans, owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday, and Steichen told reporters, "I don't think it falls completely on Chris. I'm the head football coach. It takes all of us. Coaches, scouts, everybody," per ESPN's Stephen Holder via ProFootballTalk.

Indianapolis is 2-4 after Sunday's 26-20 loss to Tennessee, per NFL.com, and fans at Lucas Oil Stadium were chanting "Fire Ballard!" as the clock ticked down, per ESPN.

Why Ballard Is Out

Ballard was introduced as GM on Jan. 30, 2017. His Colts went 72-82-1 with two playoff appearances, one playoff win and no division titles, per ESPN. Last season they were 8-2 heading into the bye and then lost seven straight to miss the playoffs, and ESPN Research has them 2-11 since, tied for the worst mark in the league over that stretch.

"Our standard is to compete for championships, and I believe a change in leadership is necessary to meet that standard," Irsay-Gordon said in a statement on Colts.com. "Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now."

She said the team will run a thorough search for the next GM. In the meantime, assistant GM Ed Dodds will run the personnel department for the rest of the season, and Steichen and the staff outside of personnel will report to ownership, per ProFootballTalk.

What It Means for Steichen

Irsay-Gordon put both men on notice in January. "We have been very clear with [Ballard] and [Steichen], but giving them another opportunity means that the sense of urgency for them to deliver and perform has never been higher," she said then, per ESPN. Firing one and keeping the other means Steichen is now judged on his own results, and Holder wrote that his seat remains quite hot.

The Nov. 10 trade deadline is the next pressure point. Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner are both in the final seasons of their contracts, per ESPN, and Buckner was blunt after Sunday's loss. "I'm pissed off," he said. "I'm sick and tired of the same song and dance every year." Daniel Jones, back from a ruptured Achilles, is completing a career-low 59.6% of his passes.

Irsay-Gordon also said the move does not change the goals for this season. "We have a lot of football in front of us, and I expect us to compete, improve, and win football games," she said.

Up Next

The Colts visit the Vikings on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS, then go to Jacksonville on Nov. 1. Steichen already said the blame belongs to everybody in the building. Now his team has to go win in Minneapolis and show it was listening.