The apparent frontrunner for the Indianapolis Colts’ open general manager position will have a second interview with the team.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported tonight that Chris Ballard will have a second interview with the Colts, one that Schefter says will take place on Sunday. Schefter also said that the Chiefs are now bracing to lose Ballard to the Colts.
Ballard is the Chiefs’ director of football operations and has done a terrific job there, establishing a reputation as one of the brightest and best personnel guys in all of football. He’s in the past been hesitant to even interview with teams about GM openings, but the Colts’ job is different because of Andrew Luck. So Ballard interviewed with the Colts and for several days now has been presumed and reported to be the frontrunner.
This would be yet another indication of that, as Ballard is the first person we’ve heard of being invited back for a second interview with the team. It’s possible he could be the only one, too, depending on how serious the Colts’ interest is in him.
Hiring Ballard would be a terrific move by Jim Irsay and one that would provide a massive upgrade in the front office at the GM position. It would also lead to a pretty big question right away: what’s the status of head coach Chuck Pagano? It’s been widely reported that Ballard wants his own guy as the head coach (which should be obvious) and it sounds like that guy might be Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub. So the question becomes this: would hiring Ballard mean that Pagano is gone, or would hiring Ballard mean that he took the job despite the fact that Pagano is there (in other words, because of Andrew Luck)? We don’t know the answer to that right now, but what we do know is this: Chuck Pagano’s job doesn’t seem too safe right now, despite what Jim Irsay said last week.