, birth_place =

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, death_date = , death_place = , high_school = , college =

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

, pastcoaching = *

Texas A&M-Kingsville Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

(1994)
Wide receivers coach * Texas A&M-Kingsville (1995–1998)
Secondary coach * Texas A&M–Kingsville (1999)
Defensive coordinator & secondary coach , pastexecutive = *

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

()
Scout * Chicago Bears ()
Director of pro scouting *

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

()
Director of player personnel * Kansas City Chiefs ()
Director of football operations *

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

(–present)
General manager , highlights = *

PFWA The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve t ...

Executive of the Year (2018) Christopher R. Ballard (born June 24, 1969) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

executive who is the

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Before joining the Colts, Ballard was an executive for the

, where he most recently served as the Director of Football Operations, was a scout for the

, and served in various coaching roles at

Texas A&M University–Kingsville Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a Public university, public research university in Kingsville, Texas. It is the southernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System. The university developed the nation's first doctoral degree in bilingual ...

Early life

Ballard was born in

. Growing up a severe asthmatic in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, as well as

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Ballard's parents reluctantly let him play football at a young age. He was a star quarterback in high school. Ballard's favorite NFL team was once the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

; his favorite player was

Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a television sports analyst an ...

. Ballard attended the

and switched his position to wide receiver as a freshman.

Career

Early career

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 The Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Texas A&M University–Kingsville located in the U.S. state of Texas. The team competes in the Division II and is a member of the Lone St ...

team coaching wide receivers. He later coached the secondary and defense.

Chicago Bears

In 2001, Ballard joined the

' scouting department. It was during this time that he declined a job offer to run first-year coach

Art Briles Arthur Ray Briles (born December 3, 1955) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach for the Guelfi Firenze in the Italian Football League. Briles was the head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2002 to 2007 and the Baylor Be ...

' secondary at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

. Ballard contributed to Chicago's success in the twelve 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 before moving to the Kansas City Chiefs. During his time with the Bears, he was said to be involved with many acquisitions such as

Matt Forte Matthew Garrett Forte (born December 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave and was drafted ...

Johnny Knox Johnny Otis Knox II (born November 3, 1986) is a former American football wide receiver who played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Abilene Christian University. He was selected by the Chicag ...

Brandon Marshall Brandon Tyrone Marshall (born March 23, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCF Knights, and was drafted by ...

, and

Martellus Bennett Martellus Demond Bennett (born March 10, 1987) is a former American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at Texas A&M and was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second ...

Kansas City Chiefs

Prior to the 2013 season, Ballard joined the

as Director of Player Personnel, the position he remained in until the conclusion of the 2014 season in which he received a promotion to become the Director of Football Operations. He remained with the Chiefs until the conclusion of the 2016 regular season. While with the

, Ballard was involved in drafting Pro-Bowlers

Travis Kelce Travis Michael Kelce (; born October 5, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowl LIV ...

Tyreek Hill Tyreek or Tyreke is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Tyreek Burwell (born 1992), American football player *Tyreek Duren (born 1991), American basketball player *Tyreke Evans (born 1989), American basketball player *Tyreek Hill ( ...

, and

Marcus Peters Marcus Peters (born January 9, 1993) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and was also a member of the Los Angeles Rams and the Baltimore Raven ...

Indianapolis Colts

In the midst of the 2016 NFL Playoffs, Ballard was introduced as the new General Manager of the

. Ballard was reportedly attracted to the Indianapolis General Manager job following the dismissal of

Ryan Grigson Ryan Grigson (born February 23, 1972) is an American football executive who is the senior vice president of player personnel for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).. From 2012 to 2016, he served as the general manager of ...

because of the local ownership and team history. He immediately began a roster makeover, mostly on the defensive side of the ball. He cut four starters from the prior season. The Colts would have a losing record in Ballard's first season as their GM. Prior to his second season, the Colts fired Head Coach

Chuck Pagano Charles David Pagano (born October 2, 1960) is a former American football coach and player. Pagano spent six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2012 to 2017. He also served as the defensiv ...

. Despite the Colts announcing that they had signed

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

offensive coordinator

Josh McDaniels Joshua Thomas McDaniels (born April 22, 1976) is an American football head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career in 2001 with the New England Patriots, where he served as the offensive coo ...

, McDaniels unexpectedly withdrew from the agreement in principle. On February 11, 2018, the Colts announced

Frank Reich Frank Michael Reich Jr. (; ; born December 4, 1961) is an American football coach and former quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football at Maryland a ...

as their new head coach. The Colts finished the season with a 10-6 record, and two of Ballard's 2018 draft choices,

Quenton Nelson Quenton Emerson Nelson (born March 19, 1996) is an American football guard for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was a unanimous All-American, and was selected by ...

and

Shaquille Leonard Darius Shaquille Leonard (born July 27, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Carolina State and was drafted in the second round of the 201 ...

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. Additionally, Leonard was named the

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...

. Ballard was named the NFL Executive of the Year by the

Pro Football Writers of America The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serv ...

in 2018. In August 2021, Ballard signed a five-year contract extension with the Colts.

Personal life

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Chris Living people Sportspeople from Wisconsin 1969 births People from Galveston, Texas National Football League general managers Indianapolis Colts executives Wisconsin Badgers football players Chicago Bears scouts Kansas City Chiefs executives Chicago Bears executives Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football coaches