Pat McAfee comments on Indianapolis Colts firing general manager Chris Ballard
Former Indianapolis Colts punter and ubiquitous ESPN personality Pat McAfee, "a very, very, very, very high-paying season-ticket holder," responded to the firing of general manager Chris Ballard with a video on social media Monday, Oct. 19.
"Chris Ballard is a good man … but he never won with the Colts," McAfee said, with a few NSFW words thrown in. "And I don’t think he was a doing it in a manner in which you could win.
"I think he liked hits guys," McAfee said, invoking a Ballard accent. "But I think his guys really didn’t have it.
"The culture seemed to be so soft with no accountability for a long time," with players reportedly missing meetings and treatment with no repercussions.
McAfee noted that Ballard got a bad break when Andrew Luck retired just before the 2019 season, but the Colts have been chasing a solution since: Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones have tried.
Insider: Colts fire GM Chris Ballard after 10 years due to failures at QB, pass rush and more
The Colts hired Ballard for the 2017 season, and they went 72-82-1 with him making the personnel calls, reaching the playoffs twice, but not since 2020.
Before this season, Ballard said he had not considered signing a contract extension, noting that the team had not been good enough in recent seasons and that he needed to build a winner to stay on.
(Note: The video below contains language not suitable for work [NSFW].)
BREAKING: CHRIS BALLARD, IN HIS 10th SEASON IN INDY, HAS BEEN FIRED AS @Colts GM pic.twitter.com/nURjGcXSFZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 19, 2026
Reaction to Colts firing Chris Ballard as general manager
We have relieved Chris Ballard of his duties as General Manager. pic.twitter.com/BleD6bfTsG
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 19, 2026
Chris Ballard was in the final season of his contract. He openly had discussed not being worried about not getting an extension. And now he is out in October. https://t.co/9X8ZeqVldzpic.twitter.com/N2u6B2ZGMr
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 19, 2026
From @GMFB: The #Colts have finally moved on from GM Chris Ballard, a rare midseason GM firing. pic.twitter.com/a3iz0j7hb5
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 19, 2026
The Colts kept Ballard despite an epic crash in 2022 and after 2024 washed out and Richardson busted.
He was given more rope than he deserved, yet still couldn’t meet even the bare minimum expectation (simply making the playoffs) and leaves the team worse than when he arrived.
— Derek Schultz (@Schultz975) October 19, 2026
Carlie Irsay-Gordon’s gameday notes: pic.twitter.com/OAAkU2sN2N
— Matt Glenesk (@MattGlenesk) October 18, 2026
The Colts are primed to be the most Tobias Funke anyone has ever been. https://t.co/Ldf5r7bBn6pic.twitter.com/OulB5LFXJw
— Jim Ayello (@jimayello) October 19, 2026
Chris Ballard is one of the genuinely good people in football. But as strange as it may sound, I think his loyalty, belief in people and kindness sometimes worked against him.
The #Colts went all-in last year after starting 8-2 by trading two 1st-round picks for Sauce Gardner,… https://t.co/chDYTFAKOepic.twitter.com/15mSVyyikj
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 19, 2026
Five straight seasons without a playoff appearance for the #Colts (and some work to do at 2-4 to avoid a sixth) results in ownership moving on from Chris Ballard as GM. https://t.co/0ILHLO90qt
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) October 19, 2026
Carlie Irsay-Gordon did not wait long after a very disappointing start, especially yesterday’s ugly loss to the previously-winless Titans, to make moves for her team. https://t.co/TbKWbMDgc9
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) October 19, 2026
Losing to the #Titans was the final straw for <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/Colt
Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.