Colts head coach Shane Steichen opened his weekly Monday press conference with comments about Chris Ballard, who that morning was relieved of his duties as general manager after the Colts dropped to 2-4 with a 26-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
"I've got a ton of respect for Chris," Steichen said. "He worked tirelessly for this organization, for this city, and it's the (expletive) part of the business. I don't think it falls completely on Chris. I'm the head football coach. It takes all of us – coaches, scouts, everybody, and we got to put our best foot forward moving forward and get ready for the Minnesota Vikings. But a ton of respect for Chris, the human, the person, how much he cared for this organization, the players, (and) the city as well."
For Steichen, his focus remains the same even in the wake of Monday's shakeup on 56th Street. On one hand, the Colts are 2-4; on the other, it's only Week 7. And at the end of Colts Owner & CEO Carlie Irsay-Gordon's statement announcing the Ballard decision, she emphasized the goals for this season haven't changed.
"We got to go put a product on the field that's a winning product that people are proud of," Steichen said, "and we got to do a better job of that each and every week when we go out there and play."
Steichen on Monday addressed his team, which is seeking answers and solutions after squandering a 13-point halftime lead against the previously-winless Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday. The NFL stops for no one, and the Colts have an important game looming against the undefeated Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium this coming weekend. And that game, and the remaining 11 the Colts are guaranteed to play, was the substance of Steichen's message.
"I told them today, I said 'Look guys, here's the reality of the situation, we're 2-4. We've dug ourselves in a hole. All right, we dug ourselves in a hole together, and we got to dig ourselves out together,'" Steichen said. "And that was the message. (We have) a ton of football ahead of us, but we got to put our heads down and work, control the controllables, have great meetings, have great practices – sense of urgency in everything we do. The details got to be right.
"I said 'Shoot, my first year, we were 3-5 and we dug ourselves out, and we were one play away from winning the division.' And it's a similar situation. I look at it like that, but we got to put in the work to do it. I can't sit here in front of a camera and talk about it. We got to go put the product on the field for our fans."
