Eight days ago, Colts owner Jim Irsay told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that Irsay is giving no thought to firing coach Frank Reich. Irsay apparently has given some thought to it since then.
Reich is out, despite the team’ 3-5-1 record. And despite basically having a shift from quarterback Matt Ryan to Sam Ehlinger forced upon him by a business decision to avoid owing Ryan an extra $17 million in 2022.
It’s only a surprise because Irsay didn’t do it sooner. Given that Reich was the in-house champion for quarterback Carson Wentz, I assumed Irsay would make a change after the Colts lost to the hapless Jaguars in Week 18 with a playoff berth on the line.
Ballard quite possibly calmed Irsay down. Now, Ballard may not want to buy any lettuce.
At the same time Irsay said “rather emphatically” that he wouldn’t fire Reich, Irsay also said he wouldn’t fire G.M. Chris Ballard. So, given what played out today, that’s the next logical step -- regardless of whether it should be.
