MY COUCH, Ind. – His name is Chris Ballard.
And he’s screwed.
His name is Shane Steichen.
And he, too, is screwed, albeit not necessarily as screwed as Ballard.
Her name is Carlie Irsay-Gordon.
And she’s screwed as well.
The Indianapolis Colts, losers of four of five games and in a freefall after Sunday’s 36-19 loss to the Jaguars in Jacksonville, are in a world of hurt. Daniel Jones, the erstwhile quarterback of the present and the future, is gone for the season – and perhaps for a portion of next season – with a torn Achilles. And that changes everything.
Questions: If the Colts fail to make the playoffs, and that looks likely with Riley Leonard starting these last four games against a Murderer’s Row of opponents on the last month’s schedule, what does that mean for Ballard’s and Steichen’s employment futures? If Ballard, in particular, survives after a season that is now circling the drain, does he re-sign Jones after the Achilles surgery, or do the Colts start the quarterback search anew? And given those circumstances,, how does he find a new quarterback without a first-round draft pick these next two years, which were traded away for Sauce Gardner (a trade that looked good at the time, but now stands as a boondoggle)? That’s not to say you can’t find quarterback prospects in the second round and beyond, but it surely makes the process more difficult.
