The Indianapolis Colts surprised many on Monday when they announced that former star center Jeff Saturday will serve as the interim head coach.
Saturday replaces Frank Reich, who was fired one day after the Colts’ ugly 26-3 road loss to the New England Patriots. The defeat dropped Indianapolis to 3-5-1 on the year, and they look poised to miss the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 2016-17.
The decision to hire Saturday was largely surprising for a variety of reasons. Among them: The six-time Pro Bowler has never been a coach at the NFL or the collegiate level. His only football coaching experience? Saturday was the head coach of the Hebron Christian Academy team in Dacula, Georgia from 2017 to 2020.
So, what was Saturday’s initial reaction when owner Jim Irsay offered him the head coaching position? Saturday explained it to reporters on Monday, per Matthew VanTryon of The Indianapolis Star:
“Shock would be an understatement. We had the conversation and it escalated quickly. He asked me and my wife. He told me he was going to meet with Chris about it. As the day progressed, we finally came to a conclusion. It was a 12-hour whirlwind. It was a late call.
I feel fully capable, excited about the opportunity. If it goes well, hopefully it will go extremely well. The job is win. This is an audition for this job and 31 other jobs.”
Reich was named head coach of the Colts in 2018 after then-New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out of the HC position at the last minute. Reich had won Super Bowl 52 as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles one week before the Colts hired him.
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The 60-year-old Reich finishes his tenure in Indianapolis with a rather solid 40-33-1 record. Indianapolis had missed the postseason in three consecutive years when he came aboard, but Reich took them to the playoffs in two of his first three years there (2018 and 2020).
A two-game losing skid to close out the season cost Indianapolis a playoff spot a year ago. They traded away quarterback Carson Wentz and replaced him with 2016 league MVP Matt Ryan, who was brought in via trade with the Atlanta Falcons.
But Ryan struggled behind an anemic Colts offensive line, prompting Reich to bench him in favor of Sam Ehlinger. The Colts lost both starts under Ehlinger, and the porous play ultimately caused Irsay to make a change at head coach.
