How does Chris Ballard continue to keep his job?

At some point, you run out of excuses. You can blame Andrew Luck 's retirement, injuries, coaching, bad luck, bad quarterback play or whatever else people have used over the years, but eventually the person responsible for building the roster has to answer for the results. Ballard is now in Year 10, and the Colts are still having the same conversations they were having five, six and seven years ago. Who is the long-term quarterback? Where is the pass rush coming from? Why is the roster always one injury away from scrambling for help? Why is this team constantly hovering around .500 without ever actually going anywhere?

That is what makes this different from another article reacting to one bad loss or one bad season. This is about a decade of the same patterns repeating themselves. Ballard has made some good picks, found some good players and built a few teams that looked promising for stretches, and he deserves credit for those things. The problem is that none of it has translated into sustained success. The Colts are always close, always one move away, always one year away, and somehow still in the same place.

If there is one word that perfectly describes the Chris Ballard era, it is mediocre.