The Indianapolis Colts made one of the more puzzling moves of the 2022 season. After firing their head coach, they took the risk of hiring Jeff Saturday. It was a risky move that ended in a 1-7 record in Saturday’s eight games, securing a top-5 draft pick in the process. Fans would think that the Colts would replace the interim coach this off-season. However, there still seems to be interest in Jeff Saturday, which may showcase the definition of insanity.
A Saturday to Forget
To understand the comedy of the situation, it takes some background knowledge.
The Colts fired Frank Reich after a 3-5-1 start after missing the playoffs the previous season. Instead of elevating a coach from Reich’s staff, they decided to bring in Saturday, a former All-Pro center for the franchise who was working as an ESPN analyst. He had no professional coaching experience before being hired, only coaching at the high school level.
His coaching debut was a pleasant surprise- a road-upset victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. However, it proceeded to go downhill in the form of seven straight losses, and there was a fair share of ugly moments. The 33-point fourth quarter they allowed to the Dallas Cowboys, mustering only 173 yards of total offense against the Los Angeles Chargers, and most infamously the blown leads to both Minnesota and Houston. The former blown lead was a blown 33-0 lead at halftime in a game they lost in overtime.
The Colts finished 4-12-1 on the season and finished third in the AFC South. In the process, they secured the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, their highest since 2017.
Indianapolis Colts vs. the Indianapolis Colts
Given Saturday’s inexperience and record, fans would think he would not be in the running for the full-time position. But according to TheScore’s Jordan Schultz, owner Jim Irsay considers Saturday his number one choice.
Sources: Jim Irsay’s No. 1 choice for HC remains Jeff Saturday, while others in the #Colts’ front office prefer different leading candidates. Saturday, I’m told, presented his staff choices during his 2nd interview on Wednesday. Irsay has not sat in on most interviews. @theScore https://t.co/lJr3YinQb4
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) January 26, 2023
The Colts have already been in chaos due to their constant turnover of quarterbacks since Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement in 2019. And since 2020, we have seen this team get progressively worse over time and fans are getting agitated. In light of the news of Saturday’s second interview, Colts fans created a petition to convince Irsay to not hire him. As of Thursday evening, the petition has over 2,700 signatures.
Of course, Irsay is the owner at the end of the day. And he is the person that signs off on what coach the Indianapolis Colts take. So that likely renders the petition meaningless. However, it is very much a bad sign that the fanbase is growing impatient with the Indianapolis Colts during the post-Luck years. Even if the Colts hire another coach outside of Saturday, the Colts may have dug themselves a hole with the Colts faithful.
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