The Indianapolis Colts announced Wednesday that they have signed general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Frank Reich to contract extensions through 2026.

The Colts hired Ballard in 2017. After a 4-12 season, Ballard fired head coach Chuck Pagano and hired Reich for the 2018 season.

With Andrew Luck at the helm for Indianapolis, Reich went to the playoffs in his first season as head coach thanks to a 10-6 record. The Colts beat the Houston Texans but were then eliminated by the Kansas City Chiefs in the postseason.

Luck's sudden retirement after that season led to a step back in 2019, but Indy responded with an 11-5 season in 2020 with Philip Rivers at the helm. Unfortunately, the Colts lost 27-24 to the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round.

Rivers then retired after last season, and Ballard made the move to bring in Carson Wentz to be the quarterback. Wentz and Reich have history from their days with the Philadelphia Eagles, so the hope is the head coach will help the quarterback find his groove again after a disastrous 2020 season.

Wentz suffered an injury setback at training camp, but the hope is he won't miss too much time and could be back either for the start of the regular season in a month or soon after. There has been some speculation about Ballard reuniting Reich with Nick Foles, though nothing is imminent on that front.

Whatever happens before the start of the season, these contract extensions are well-deserved. Indy has bounced back from Luck's sudden retirement thanks to Ballard's personnel decisions and Reich's coaching. The Colts are now looking to take that next step to becoming a legitimate Super Bowl contender.