Earlier this morning, I was mildly stunned to learn that Chris Ballard had been fired. Granted, it was just a matter of time being he got the pink slip, but mid-season GM firings are exceedingly rare, and I figured Carlie Irsay-Gordon would play out the season before doing what needed to be done.
Then I heard from a friend and a subscriber (we’ll call him “Ed”) who told me that season-ticket renewals went out last week and the first payments are due in November and, well, it all made perfect sense.
Look, at 2-4 and looking more hopeless with each passing week, it was quite apparent that Ballard was toast at season’s end, and prospects weren’t any brighter for head coach Shane Steichen. But with season ticket renewals coming due, Irsay-Gordon had to do something significant. She had to appease the fan base one day after very audible “Fire Ballard!” chants were heard at Lucas Oil Stadium in the latter moments of Sunday’s 26-20 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans. The message was heard, and Irsay-Gordon acted.
Now? Time to tear it down.
