As the first round of interviews has wrapped up in Indianapolis regarding the Colts’ general manager position, one thing we’ve heard multiple times over the last several days is that Chris Ballard is likely the favorite for the job.

Last night, KMBC’s Steven Albritton reported that Chris Ballard is the “clear favorite” for the job, but that he wants to change head coaches. Our old friend Brad Wells reported the same thing last night too.

If this is true, it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone at all. For a top GM candidate who has turned down offers in the past to take a job where he’s got a holdover coach for a year isn’t an ideal scenario. The question has been whether the Andrew Luck factor will outweigh the Chuck Pagano factor for some of these candidates, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that Ballard - the top name on the Colts’ list - would want to choose his own head coach.

The question is whether Jim Irsay will agree. He’s already stated that Chuck Pagano is the team’s coach for 2017, but most people understood that it wasn’t definite yet until the GM was hired. So while Irsay would like to keep Pagano around, that could always change depending on who he hired as the GM. If that person is Ballard, then it’s possible that Pagano will be gone. If that’s the case, Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub would likely become the favorite for the head coaching position in Indy.

Again, there’s nothing definitive yet, but this report shouldn’t really surprise people if true. Because, well, let’s face it: one of the top GM candidates in all of football wanting to bring his own head coach rather than be stuck with Chuck Pagano is actually quite logical and makes perfect sense.