There are so many potential rock bottom moments with the 2022 Indianapolis Colts. Tying the Texans, losing to the Jags, only scoring 14ppg, the list goes on. Yet Monday afternoon the Colts made one of the craziest decisions of the entire season. After firing Frank Reich following the team’s lifeless showing against the New England Patriots, Indy needed to make a decision on who would lead them the rest of the year.
The Colts part ways with head coach Frank Reich. pic.twitter.com/jjKMfoehmD
— NFL (@NFL) November 7, 2022
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Despite having two former NFL coaches on staff, Indianapolis went completely off script and named Colts legend Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach. No, that is not a typo. They are bringing in a beloved figure in Colts history who has never coached above the high school level to lead a professional team in the National Football League.
Breaking: Colts are naming their former six-time Pro-Bowl C and ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach. Saturday has been a consultant for the team, is in its Ring Of Honor, and also was head coach for the Hebron Christian Academy football team in Dacula, Georgia. pic.twitter.com/VEmHOeSrFR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 7, 2022
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Whether you want to feel bad for the current coaches on staff or not, naming somebody with no pro or college experience to lead one of the thirty-two most coveted jobs in all of sports is so insane that you wouldn’t have been able to find it on an odds board at a sportsbook.
On top of that, the Colts don’t have anybody on staff that has NFL experience calling offensive plays. They have less than six days to figure out that puzzle and so many other questions regarding the rest of the season.
Who knows? Perhaps Jeff Saturday, who genuinely does love the Colts and by all accounts is one of the nicest guys in the NFL, will save the day and be a key component to the rebirth of national relevancy surrounding the Colts. I hope he does, because Colts fans deserve better than what they’ve had the last four years. Plus, it would be a very special story.
Make no mistake, Jeff Saturday is not the #Colts interim head coach.
He’s auditioning to lead Jim Irsay’s football team for years to come:https://t.co/lhpIcENYvN
— Kevin Bowen (@KBowen1070) November 7, 2022
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In the meantime, one thing is for certain: for the first time this season, the Colts are interesting. Whether it’s the “can’t look away from this train wreck” kind of interesting or the “this train is finally back on track” kind of interesting remains to be seen.
Monday on The Dan Dakich Show the great Sean Salisbury joined just after the Jeff Saturday news broke to share his thoughts on the move.
Over the course of our chat Sean also talked about:
- what he saw out of the Colts vs New England yesterday
- why he isn’t surprised Indy fired Frank Reich
- how the Colts proceed moving forward without somebody to call plays
- what this midseason change can do to the locker room
- where expectations should be for Jeff Saturday as interim head coach
Check out Dan’s full chat with Sean Salisbury below and keep listening to The Dan Dakich Show, weekdays 12-3pm Eastern, on The Fan.
