Faced with criticism of the team's culture, Colts general manager Chris Ballard believes he's made too many players comfortable in their roles.

Ballard cautioned he wouldn't make moves out of desperation, but his track record does include a few aggressive moves.

The Indianapolis Colts are retaining general manager Chris Ballard for the 2025 NFL season, so I’m sure the question on the mind of just about everyone is, why? By now, we are all quite familiar with Ballard’s track record at the helm of this team, so I will bypass that information and dive into what my best guess is as to why Ballard is returning.

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard had a different tone than in years past, but the clues for the offseason remained.

After finishing 9-8 in 2023 and narrowly missing out on the playoffs following a Week 18 loss to Houston, outside of the draft, Ballard barely added to the roster. The only outside additions made were Joe Flacco and Raekwon Davis–a backup quarterback and a rotational defensive tackle.

Frustrated by the team’s lack of success under Ballard’s watch, the fan base has loudly and consistently called for change at the top of the organization, a steady call that Colts owner Jim Irsay acknowledged in the statement he released hours after the season finale that revealed Indianapolis would bring back Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen.

Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard blames himself for another playoff miss. So he’s promising to a different approach this offseason.