Chris Ballard (American football)

Christopher R. Ballard (born June 24, 1969) is an American professional football executive who is the general manager for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). Before joining the Colts, he was an executive for the Kansas City Chiefs, serving as the director of player personnel and then as the director of football operations. Ballard was also a scout for the Chicago Bears and served in various coaching roles at Texas A&M University–Kingsville.

Ballard was born in Galveston, Texas. Growing up a severe asthmatic in Texas, as well as Wisconsin, his parents reluctantly let him play football at a young age. Ballard was a star quarterback in high school at Texas City High School. His favorite NFL team was once the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his favorite player was Terry Bradshaw.

Ballard attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and switched his position to wide receiver as a freshman. Ballard suffered knee injuries and was forced to retire from playing during his senior year at Wisconsin, working as a student assistant in the aftermath. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1993.

After college, Ballard became a history teacher for Hitchcock Junior High while also contributing to their football program. After a referral from Hitchcock's head coach, Ballard joined the Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football team coaching wide receivers in 1994. He would remain for seven seasons on the staff of Javelinas head coach Ron Harms, taking over as secondary coach in 1995 and mentoring future NFL players Floyd Young and Al Harris.

In 2001, Ballard joined the Chicago Bears' scouting department. It was during this time that he declined a job offer to run first-year coach Art Briles' secondary at the University of Houston. Ballard contributed to Chicago's success in the 12 years he was there. In 2012, he received a promotion to director of pro scouting. Ballard would only remain in this position for one season. During his time with the Bears, Ballard was said to be involved with many acquisitions such as Matt Forte, Johnny Knox, Brandon Marshall, and Martellus Bennett.

Prior to the 2013 season, Ballard joined the Kansas City Chiefs as director of player personnel. He stayed in that position until becoming the director of football operations the end of the 2014 season. Ballard remained with the team until the conclusion of the 2016 regular season. While with the Chiefs, Ballard was involved in drafting Pro-Bowlers Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Marcus Peters.

In the midst of the 2016 NFL Playoffs, Ballard was introduced as the new general manager of the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts would have a losing record in Ballard's first season as their general manager. Prior to his second season, the Colts fired head coach Chuck Pagano. Despite the Colts announcing that they had signed New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, McDaniels unexpectedly withdrew from the agreement in principle. On February 11, 2018, the Colts announced Frank Reich as their new head coach.

The Colts finished the 2018 season with a 10–6 record, and two of Ballard's 2018 draft choices, Quenton Nelson and Shaquille Leonard, were named to the AP All-Pro First Team, becoming the first set of rookie teammates to be named First Team All-Pro since 1965 and only the second in NFL history. Leonard was also named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Ballard was named the NFL Executive of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America in 2018.

In August 2021, Ballard signed a five-year contract extension with the Colts.

Ballard and his wife, Kristin, have three children and adopted two more in 2012.