Chris Ballard understands importance of communication as a GM

If you’ve been following the Indianapolis Colts over the past few years, you likely will have heard about the tension between former general manager Ryan Grigson and head coach Chuck Pagano.

The communication between the two of them was not good. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this year that owner Jim Irsay had brought in psychologists to try to help with that, as Schefter wrote “the focus primarily was on ways Pagano and Grigson could improve their communication.”

Jim Irsay’s hope is that now new GM Chris Ballard and Pagano will have better communication than the previous duo did, and it seems like that is off to a good start. At the very least, Ballard seems to understand the importance of communication.

"If you’re not communicating on a daily basis - and you can never over-communicate - the rest of the building feels it," Ballard said last week in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, per Sporting News’ Alex Marvez. "When there’s tension, everybody feels it. In this league, winning is too hard to do. For people not to communicate is just crazy in my mind. And it affects the entire building."

One area that Ballard explained that communication has paid off is in relationship with the coaches, who he didn’t know before arriving. So he spent time getting to know them and getting to know what they’re looking for at certain positions, which has helped him know how best to assemble the team. It’s that communication that is important and essential.

That has to be encouraging for Colts fans to hear, considering the previous regime’s communication issues. And none of this is really to just pile on Ryan Grigson but rather to show that, at least from all indications so far, the relationship between Chris Ballard and Chuck Pagano has been pretty good.

One of the things that was discussed by many at the time the Colts hired Ballard was that he’s very well-liked and well-respected throughout the league, with people saying that he’s worked well with executives, scouts, coaches, and players alike. That’s probably something that Jim Irsay especially looked for in a new GM considering the past few years, and it seems like it’s so far, so good for Chris Ballard in that area.