Yet team owner Jim Irsay still opted to bring back Ballard and coach Shane Steichen while expressing his disappointment with Indy's four-year playoff absence in a letter posted Sunday night. Five days later, Ballard sounded relieved to be getting another chance — perhaps his final opportunity to fix the mistakes of recent years.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard knows that his team didn't meet expectations during the 2024 season in Indianapolis.

After finishing 9-8 in 2023 and narrowly missing out on the playoffs following a Week 18 loss to Houston, outside of the draft, Ballard barely added to the roster. The only outside additions made were Joe Flacco and Raekwon Davis–a backup quarterback and a rotational defensive tackle.