Colts reportedly make first call to Peyton Manning after firing GM Chris Ballard
The Indianapolis Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday morning, one day after a 26-20 home loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans dropped them to 2-4 in his 10th season. Within a few hours, Peyton Manning’s name was attached to the opening.
“Making this change during the season was a deliberate decision. Waiting would only delay the important work that needs to begin now. We will conduct a thorough search for our next general manager and take the time necessary to identify the right leader for the future of this organization.” Colts owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon said in a statement announcing the move.
According to Dan Patrick, the first call of that search is going, or has already gone, to the quarterback who delivered the franchise its only Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
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“The Colts’ first call will be/has been to Peyton Manning. The call will not only get names and suggestions, but the call will explore whether or not Peyton would be interested in being a general manager for the Colts as the entry point that would include ownership interest in the Colts.” Patrick said on The Dan Patrick Show, reading the message from his phone.
“The Colts’ first call will be/has been to Peyton Manning.” — DP shares what his source has told him. https://t.co/MgTbuJIxhW
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) October 19, 2026
At the 2019 owners meetings, Jim Irsay said his talks with Manning about a president or general manager role, which began in 2016, had gotten close before going nowhere. Patrick also told listeners he once asked Irsay about bringing Manning aboard as a part owner, and Irsay had no interest in selling any portion of the team.
His daughters, who took over after his death in May 2025, are now willing to discuss a stake for the first major hire of their tenure, per Patrick’s source. That covers the one thing their father never offered, and it leaves the personal side of the decision.
“Now my source says the only question will be Peyton’s family. They enjoyed Denver quite a bit. His kids are getting to the age where moving has implications, difficulties. But it would seem all involved owe it to themselves to explore it and consider it.” Patrick said, per Awful Announcing.
Manning would also be weighing his media business, since ESPN’s extension with Omaha Productions runs through 2034 and covers the ManningCast along with a growing slate of other shows.
What would Peyton Manning be inheriting in Indianapolis?
“So now you have an opportunity to put Peyton back in Indy as a GM and part owner. And he gets to pick his quarterback. So now all of a sudden, the community is going to love this. The league would love this. Would Peyton love this?” Patrick said, per Awful Announcing, adding his own thoughts to what the source had passed along.
Ballard sent the Colts’ first-round picks in 2026 and 2027, plus receiver Adonai Mitchell, to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner at the 2025 trade deadline. Longtime Dan Patrick Show producer Paul Pabst pointed that out on the show when Patrick joked about the Colts landing Arch Manning.
Any new general manager, Manning included, would head into the 2027 draft without a first-round selection, so the next quarterback would have to come through a trade, free agency or maybe a later pick.
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