Whereas some modifications might be approaching the sidelines or within the entrance workplace comparatively quickly, the Indianapolis Colts can have a big diploma of stability in each regards. Head coach Shane Steichen and normal supervisor Chris Ballard are each secure, per a team announcement.
This information comes as little shock. Current indications for each Ballard and Steichen have instructed they’d be secure for 2026, and that’s now formally the case. Proprietor Carlie Irsay-Gordon will conduct a press convention on Monday, per the announcement.
Ballard and Steichen had been floated as scorching seat occupants getting into the marketing campaign based mostly on their incapability to search out success following the Anthony Richardson choice. Expectations had been tempered early with Daniel Jones on the helm, however his shocking degree of play helped information Indianapolis to a file of 8-2 on the bye. A postseason berth — and potential the AFC’s prime seed — appeared nicely inside attain. The previous two months have seen a dramatic decline, nonetheless.
Indianapolis Colts’ collapse reportedly did not play a task in selections on Shane Steichen, Chris Ballard
Jones suffered a partial fibula fracture after which an Achilles tear, ending his promising season. Accidents have additionally dealt a notable blow on protection generally and the secondary specifically all through 2025. That issue, coupled with a string of difficult matchups in opposition to playoff-bound opponents, contributed to a seven-game dropping streak to complete the marketing campaign. As ESPN’s Stephen Holder notes, the Colts have grow to be the primary time in league historical past to complete with a dropping file regardless of being no less than six video games over .500 at one level.
That undesirable piece of historical past would add to the case in opposition to Ballard specifically. Holder confirms, nonetheless, that the late-season collapse didn’t play a serious function in deciding the destiny of the Colts’ HC-GM combo. The crew will search for higher luck on the well being entrance and for dividends from strikes such because the Sauce Gardner commerce, one which leaves it and not using a first-round choose in 2026 or ’27. Retaining Jones will loom as a serious precedence.
Ballard has operated as Indianapolis’ normal supervisor since 2017. In that span, the crew has gone 70-78-1, reaching the postseason on solely two events. With only one playoff victory to his identify, Ballard drew growing criticism for his reliance on retaining in-house gamers for a lot of his tenure. 2025 noticed a departure in philosophy, with the Gardner blockbuster being preceded by a number of free agent splashes. In her first full offseason working the crew, Irsay-Gordon has elected to permit Ballard to proceed seeing out the imaginative and prescient set forth final spring.
Steichen was employed in 2023 after a powerful run as an offensive coordinator with the Chargers and Eagles. The 40-year-old guided the crew to a 9-8 end in his first season in place. 2025 marks the second in a row with a file of 8-9, however that run of mediocrity and an absence of playoff motion is not going to outweigh the spectacular showings from Indianapolis early this yr.
The AFC South encompasses a Jaguars crew which went 13-4 in 2025 and a Texans squad making ready for its third straight playoff look. The Titans will probably have elevated expectations for subsequent yr, Cam Ward‘s second within the NFL. The Colts will depend on acquainted faces as they give the impression of being to duplicate the success from this fall transferring ahead.
