TC Take · Opinion · Original
Colts Fire GM Chris Ballard After Titans' First Win. That Shockwave Hits the AFC South.
Titans Country, the first win of the season just blew up Indy's front office.
Our Take: Beating the Colts 26-20 on Sunday was big enough. Watching Indianapolis fire general manager Chris Ballard the next morning makes it historic for this rebuild. A winless Titans team walked into Lucas Oil, erased a 13-0 halftime hole, and the Colts answered by changing the man who built the roster.
The Colts announced the move Monday. Owner and CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon said a change in leadership is necessary to meet the team's standard to compete for championships, and that making the change during the season was deliberate so the search work can start now. ESPN, NFL.com, and the Associated Press all report the same decision, one day after Indianapolis fell to 2-4.
Ballard's tenure ends with the Colts sitting at 2-4 after a collapse against a Titans team that entered at 0-5. That is the Titans angle for us: Robert Saleh's group got its first win, and the division rival just blew up its front office because of it.
What to watch next: who Indy puts in charge of the search, whether Shane Steichen stays insulated, and how this changes the AFC South race the Titans are trying to climb back into. Titan Up.