Chris Ballard’s football career has taken him a long way from Madison, but his connection to the University of Wisconsin never really faded.
Now, one of the most prominent former Badgers working in the NFL is looking for what comes next.
The Indianapolis Colts fired Ballard as general manager Monday after beginning the 2026 season 2-4, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, ending a tenure that dated back to January 2017.
Ballard leaves Indianapolis with a 72-82-1 regular-season record as general manager and a 1-2 mark in the playoffs. The Colts reached the postseason twice under his watch, in 2018 and 2020, but never won the AFC South and had not returned to the playoffs since that 2020 season.
His professional career, however, has always carried a Wisconsin connection.
Ballard graduated from Wisconsin in 1993 after joining the Badgers as a quarterback from Texas City, Texas, before moving to wide receiver. Knee injuries eventually ended his playing career, and he spent his final season around the program as a student assistant coach.
From there came a long climb through coaching and NFL personnel departments.
Ballard coached at Texas A&M-Kingsville before joining the Chicago Bears as a scout in 2001. He eventually became Chicago’s director of pro scouting before moving to Kansas City, where he served in senior personnel and football operations roles with the Chiefs.
Indianapolis hired him as general manager in 2017.
His high point came quickly. Ballard was named the PFWA Executive of the Year following the 2018 season, when Indianapolis went 10-6 and won a playoff game. That year’s draft produced first-team All-Pro rookies Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard, helping cement Ballard’s reputation as one of the league’s better talent evaluators.
Sustaining that success proved more difficult, particularly as the Colts cycled through quarterbacks following Andrew Luck’s retirement.
Even while running an NFL franchise, Ballard remained involved with Wisconsin in meaningful ways.
Earlier this year, Ballard served on the nine-person search committee, also featuring Michael Finley, that helped Wisconsin select Shawn Eichorst as its new athletic director. Eichorst has since begun reshaping the department’s leadership structure, hiring Georgia administrator Derek Hammock as senior associate athletic director and chief financial officer.
Ballard also played a role in another significant Wisconsin football hire.
He pointed the Badgers toward Morocco Brown, who spent eight seasons working under Ballard in Indianapolis and eventually became the Colts’ chief personnel executive. Wisconsin hired Brown in June as the football program’s general manager, replacing Marcus Sedberry, who had handled the responsibilities before becoming the school’s interim athletic director.
Brown brought extensive NFL personnel experience with him to the University of Wisconsin, including previous stops with Cleveland, Washington, and Chicago before joining Ballard’s Colts organization.
Those connections matter because Ballard’s influence at Wisconsin has extended well beyond just being a former player.
Ballard has also remained publicly supportive of Luke Fickell. During an appearance on ESPN Madison, he pointed to Fickell’s track record of identifying and developing talent at Cincinnati and made clear he still believes in what Wisconsin is building.
“Look, I believe in Luke; I think he’s an outstanding coach,” Ballard said. “He is exactly what the university needs, and he will have big success.”
He has become one of the program’s more accomplished alumni in professional football. In the past year, his fingerprints have been present on two significant decisions affecting the direction of Wisconsin Athletics.
His chapter in Indianapolis is now over.
But given how involved Ballard has remained with his alma mater, his connection to Wisconsin football is unlikely to disappear with it, even as what comes next for him professionally remains uncertain.
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