Colts Part Ways with General Manager Chris Ballard

After the Colts suffered a loss to the struggling Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis wasted no time in letting go of longtime General Manager Chris Ballard.

The franchise quickly reached out to a legendary figure they are considering to fill the role.

On a recent episode of The Dan Patrick Show, host Dan Patrick revealed that the Colts contacted Hall of Famer Peyton Manning regarding the position.

Patrick mentioned, “The Colts’ first call will be/has been Peyton Manning.”

He elaborated, saying, “This call isn’t just about names and suggestions; it’ll explore whether Peyton would have interest in becoming the general manager of the Colts, which could also include an ownership stake. This would represent the first significant hire by Jim Irsay’s daughters, marking a shift to the next generation. The community would embrace this, and the league would take notice.”

The willingness of Jim Irsay’s daughters to consider offering Manning a piece of ownership indicates their commitment to bringing back the quarterback who led Indianapolis to its last Super Bowl win.

There’s an interesting twist here, too, because John Elway, the top quarterback in Broncos history, was the GM who brought Manning to Denver. If Manning accepts the offer, he would essentially be handed the reins of his old team, tasked with restoring it to its past success.

This kind of partnership has proven successful before; after all, Manning and Elway both contributed to securing a Super Bowl championship for Denver.

However, there’s a key difference: Elway had Manning to acquire when he made his decisions. Is that kind of player out there for Manning to grab? It doesn’t seem obvious at the moment. So, Manning might have to approach fixing the Colts in a much different way.

That said, all of this hinges on whether Manning is even willing to take the role.

Since retiring, he’s remained active with media projects, including the Monday Night Football ManningCast, which he co-hosts with his brother Eli, also a former NFL player.

Yet, this show is now in its sixth year, and viewership has been declining. It didn’t even reach a million viewers at any point during the 2025 season and only attracted around 705,000 for the opening broadcast of the year—just 3 percent of ESPN’s total viewership that night.

Could these viewing numbers make Peyton more inclined to accept the Irsays’ offer? We may soon find out.