After a crushing loss to Tennessee and a 2-4 start that got even uglier with the firing of GM Chris Ballard, the Colts are staring at a season that already feels like it’s teetering. Shane Steichen knows the margin for error has nearly disappeared, and his message to the team was blunt: this is on everybody, and the only way out is together.
"I said, look, guys, here's the reality of the situation," Steichen said on Monday, via Kevin Bowen of 107.5 The Fan, "we're 2-4. We dug ourselves in a hole together and we gotta dig ourselves out together.
And that was the message. A ton of football ahead of us, but we gotta put our heads down and work, control the controllables, have great meetings, great practice, a sense of urgency in everything we do, the details gotta be right.
I said my first year, shoot, we were 3-5, we dug ourselves out and we were one play away from winning the division, and it's a similar situation. I look at it like that, but we gotta put in the work to do that.
I can't sit in front of a camera and talk about it, we gotta go put the product on the field for our fans."
That’s the reality for Indianapolis now: 11 games still to go, but plenty of ground to make up. The issues are piling up fast.
Daniel Jones is still having trouble protecting the football, and his play has slipped from where it was last season. The pass rush hasn’t found its bite.
The run game hasn’t gotten going. The defense has had trouble getting off the field.
Even the deeper parts of the roster, at linebacker and wide receiver, have already been tested.
And the schedule isn’t doing the Colts any favors. Their next two matchups are road games against unbeaten Minnesota, which is 5-0, and Jacksonville at 4-2. For Steichen and his team, the clock is already ticking.
In Other News...
Colts Rebuild Could Force A Painful Decision On One Veteran Star
Chris Ballards firing has put the Colts into a position they have largely tried to avoid, one where a reset could mean looking hard at players who have been central to the roster for years. With Ed Dodds stepping in as interim general manager, Indianapolis is suddenly in a spot where recouping draft compensation may matter as much as protecting the core, and that changes the conversation around a team built to compete sooner rather than later.
Names like DeForest Buckner, Quenton Nelson, Grover Stewart and Jonathan Taylor all sit in that uncomfortable middle ground between franchise pillar and possible trade chip. The Colts do not have to rush into anything, but with the season moving forward and a rebuild now hanging over the front office, the question is whether keeping those veterans intact is worth more than the return they could bring if Indianapolis decides to listen. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Just Made A Front Office Move Fans Can't Ignore
A shaky start has already put Indianapolis in a difficult spot, and now the organization has made a front office change that underscores just how seriously it views the first month of the season. The Colts moved on from general manager Chris Ballard, ending his run after a long stretch in charge and signaling that the patience built over the past several years had finally run out.
The timing matters because this was never just about one bad week. Indianapolis is sitting at 2-4 after a humiliating loss to the previously winless Titans, and the move invites all the usual questions about where the franchise goes next and how quickly it can stabilize. For a team that came into the year needing better results, this is the kind of decision that can reshape everything that follows. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Just Opened The Door To A Much Bigger Midseason Shakeup
The Colts front office change came with a purpose beyond simply making a switch at general manager. Chris Ballard was dismissed after Week 6, and the timing points to a broader reset that could reshape the roster before the season reaches its midpoint. For a team already staring at a rebuild, moving now gives Indianapolis a chance to start sorting out which veterans still fit and which ones could be moved for future draft capital.
Carlie Irsay-Gordon made it clear this was not a decision meant to linger, but one aimed at getting the next phase moving right away. With the November 10 trade deadline approaching, the Colts suddenly have a more active path toward a midseason shakeup, and the next few weeks could determine how aggressively they pursue extra picks and roster turnover. [Read more 🡒]