NEWSLETTER
When Jeff Saturday replaced Frank Reich as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in November, Colts owner Jim Irsay said that he was glad that Saturday brought no experience as an NFL head coach to the table.
Irsay told reporters then that he was “glad he doesn’t have any NFL experience” and said that he was glad that Saturday hadn’t “learned the fear” that NFL head coaches learn through making mistakes on the job.
Well, he certainly learned a thing or two about making mistakes on the job during his eight-game “trial” as Irsay put it back in November.
After Saturday and the Colts squeaked out a win against the Raiders in his coaching debut, Indianapolis would end the season on a seven-game losing streak. The Colts were outscored 224-132 during that seven-game losing streak and scored an average of 18.8 points per game while allowing an average of 32.0 points per game.
The seven-game losing streak also featured embarrassing losses to the Steelers and Chargers on Monday night football and a loss to Minnesota on December 17 in which they allowed the Vikings to accomplish the largest comeback in NFL history. The loss to the Texans on the final day of the regular season, one that featured Davis Mills converting two 4th and long’s and a two-point conversion to take the lead after the Colts led by a touchdown with 5:24 to play.
Fearless? Maybe. Effective? Not even close.
Still, Colts GM Chris Ballard — who admitted that he has failed at his own job thus far — confirmed Tuesday that Saturday will be a candidate for the team’s permanent head coach position.
“(Saturday will) go through the (interview) process just like everybody else. We’ll hear his vision and how he wants to build it,” said Ballard (via The Athletic).
As far as who else will join Saturday as a candidate to become the next Colts head coach, Ballard said that he won’t get into specifics but noted that while he will lead the search, “ultimately, Mr. Irsay makes the final call.”
Jim Harbaugh has been mentioned as a possible target for the Colts. However, no reporting has linked the two sides outside of pure speculation about a potential fit between Harbaugh and the Colts. Harbaugh will likely be a target of the Denver Broncos, so there will be competition there. As it stands today, there are five NFL head coaching vacancies, three fewer than there ended up being last season.
On Monday (the Colts’ final media availability of the season), Saturday noted that he auditioned with the hand that he was dealt, one which he doesn’t view as particularly strong: “Again, like when you say eight-game audition, eight-game audition with half an offensive staff, boundaries when you come in,” Saturday said. “So I mean, it’s an eight-game audition with the hand you’re dealt.”
Saturday insisted that he has a “very clear vision” of how he can turn the Colts around and vowed that if he landed the permanent gig, there would be “significant change.”
