On Monday, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay fired head coach Frank Reich after starting the 2022 season 3-5-1. The second-generation owners then socked the NFL world by installing franchise legend (with no coaching experience) Jeff Saturday as interim head coach. Now, the question becomes, is Irsay done cleaning house? Or is Colts general manager Chris Ballard next on the hit list? Here are three reasons why Colts GM Chris Ballard must go next after Frank Reich firing

4. The dreaded vote of confidence from Jim Irsay

The simplest reason Chris Ballard must be the next to go after Jim Irsay fired Frank Reich is because it seems like the next logical step in the drama playing out in Indianapolis right now.

Last week, Irsay told ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen (h/t Indianapolis Star) “he is giving no thought” to firing Reich. Just days later, after an uninspiring 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots, Irsay fired him anyway.

The owner also included Ballard in those comments to Mort, and so now it stands to reason he is next on the chopping block. As it goes in sports, the dreaded vote of confidence almost always comes before the guillotine falls, so Ballard could be out soon.

3. The GM traded too many top draft picks

Since Chris Ballard took over as the Colts GM in 2017, the franchise has only made three first-round picks.

In 2019, the team traded out of the first round with Washington. In 2020, the team traded its first-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. And in 2022, the team didn’t have a top selection because it traded it to the Philadelphia Eagles for Carson Wentz the season prior.

Now, the team has injuries piling up — as most NFL teams do — and they don’t have the depth of talent to deal with it. That’s squarely on the Colts GM and is a major reason why Ballard should fall to the sword soon.

2. Chris Ballard couldn’t find a quarterback to replace Andrew Luck

When Andrew Luck retired after the 2018 season, it was a huge shock to everyone, even inside the Colts building. After 11 years of Peyton Manning, the franchise assumed it was set up for at least another decade with Luck at QB.

However, the iconoclastic Stanford grad made his decision and sent Indy reeling. Everyone involved, from Ballard and Reich on down, gets a pass for 7-9 in 2019. After that, though, the team went 11-5 with Philip Rivers, and everything should have been back on track.

Rivers decided to retire, the team made the awful Wentz trade, and ever since then, the refrain you hear is that the team still hasn’t recovered from Luck leaving.

That excuse is over.

The Colts — a franchise that drafted Manning and Luck — kept chasing over-the-hill (or never on-the-hill) QBs, and hoping they would be the solution. They took mid-round shots on Jacob Eason and Sam Ehlinger, but again, they picked Manning and Luck No. 1 overall. They know the value of a No. 1 (or high) QB pick.

Maybe instead of trading all those draft picks for DTs and Wentz, they should have used them to trade up for a QB. Luck bought Ballard a little time, but he’s now squandered that time and needs to go so the team can start a true rebuild.

1. There’s no one left to blame

Jim Irsay is obviously mad after the last two seasons. And he should be. There is a good amount of high-end talent on this team, and they should have made the playoffs last season.

The organization blamed Carson Wentz for that, and now he’s gone. After the poor start to the season, Frank Reich is now out. There are no more scapegoats left underneath Ballard, so he is next on the chopping block.

All the excuses from Luck to Wentz to Reich have kept Ballard in his Colts GM seat to this point, but those are now all officially gone. The blame has to now sweep Ballard up in the tidal wave and cost him his job, too.

It looks like this is what will ultimately happen with Irsay appointing Jeff Saturday as interim head coach. He retired in 2012, so he has no connection to Ballard. It’s a bold move turning the reigns over to a former star player with no experience, and it shows Irsay is moving in an entirely new direction.

If Saturday stays in the position long-term, it would be a shock if he kept the GM who got the team into this mess instead of turning to someone from the glory days of the Manning Era. It could even be The Sheriff himself.