Colts Revealed Their REAL Issue

Identifying the problem is step one in fixing it, but taking care of it gets a whole lot more difficult when the issue is the guy signing the checks. The Indianapolis Colts are a mess this season and in a 'What have done for me lately business?' this season combined with last year's collapse was against former coach Frank Reich but the issues run a whole lot higher than that. Being engaged to a Colts' fan, and also best friends with one, they were clamoring for Reich to be gone but, bad news, he wasn't the real issue.

General Manager Chris Ballard survived this round but should not have his shortcomings ignored. The offensive line struggles, the lack of pass catching weapons and the musical chairs at quarterback do not make it past his desk. While you might hear shouting about 'Reich wanted Carson Wentz' and there's no denying that, but who makes the trade? For a QB that had almost no market the Colts somehow managed to outbid everyone and give away a first round pick.

Now, Ballard managed to get something solid for Wentz and give up next to nothing for Matt Ryan and deserves credit. I'd also grade his drafts as solid but the roster construction falls on the GM and this is a bad team. Does Reich deserve blame for not being able to coach up the offense, yes, but at one point does the coach get a mulligan for having a new coach every season? Jacoby Brissett, Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Ryan and Sam Ehlinger (who is not an NFL QB) have started the last four seasons and the wheels finally fell off the season.

I think even more so, what about the moves Ballard didn't make. It has been reported that Matt Stafford had the Colts on his list of teams he'd go to, yet, Ballard's interest was minimal. Maybe the Super Bowl improves the hindsight but would you rather give up the 1st round pick for Wentz or two for Stafford? Ballard has said the right things “We won't give A money to B players.” but the team has handled itself like it's on the cusp while not making the aggressive moves to support it. If you play it safe in the sports you'll just prolong your eventual failure, though Ballard now looks like he'll back his way into a young stud QB the Colts have been avoiding.

All of that being said, very little of it matters when the real problem is the owner. Jim Irsay gave the most bizarre press conference while introducing the interim coach, Jeff Saturday. It's bad enough that they picked a guy with no coaching experience, who really wasn't on the staff, but Irsay then blustered in unrelated topics while making ridiculous comparisons (mentioning Don Shula), defending and attacking his former coach and ultimately living in the past. “Look, we're the fourth-winningest franchise in the league since 2000. That means in the upper quartile of winners, we're in the top quartile of that upper quartile. That's rare air. We've earned being there, and what we've accomplished speaks for itself.” And what have you won in the last several seasons? Not an AFC South title. This smacks of that 'AFC Runner-Up' banner they hung up, moral victories in a league where those don't matter.

Irsay's whole press conference could be summed up as “I'm smarter than you.” and pushed the bad ownership role into nuclear. Does all this mean Jeff Saturday is the guy no matter what? Because if not, how do you explain this potential hires this off-season? No veteran coach is going to put his future in Irsay's hands when this move completely makes the Colts look like a clown show. The PR is already bad and if they have to make a coaching change it somehow looks even worse.

Chris Ballard's body language indicated where he stands on the Saturday hiring, and is insight into what Colts' fans can continue to expect. When the boss is the problem the organization has to succeed in spite of itself. The right people won't be allowed to make the decisions they were hired to make and it creates an atmosphere of 'just doing my job.' Especially when that involvement is in the hiring process, the company watches under qualified people get jobs and it destroys the integrity.

Jim Irsay revealed what the issue is while cementing the fact that he ignores what's happening in front of him. Somehow he made a now move while solely living in the past. He's hanging on to the glory days while this 'upper quartile' franchise crumbles to the point of struggling to be competitive in an average division. Somehow, this franchise has sunk to competing with the ever retooling Jaguars and also awfully run Houston Texans. While they'll luck into potentially getting another franchise quarterback, will they ruin this one too?