Fritz Pollard Alliance Questions Rooney Rule After Colts Hire Saturday as Interim HC

Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves questioned the impact of the Rooney Rule after the Indianapolis Colts' selection of Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach.

CBS Sports' Josina Anderson provided a statement from Graves on Monday:

The FPA was formed in 2003 to "champion diversity" in the NFL through networking, mentoring and advocating for minority candidates.

Colts owner Jim Irsay cited his history of hiring Black coaches when asked about the Rooney Rule during a press conference introducing Saturday, a former center for the franchise with no NFL coaching experience.

"Tony Dungy, being in the Hall of Fame as the first African American coach, and being followed by Jim Caldwell," Irsay told reporters. "When Tony took a leave of absence for a very unfortunate family situation, Jim Caldwell was our interim head coach. It was interim, just like this is."

The Rooney Rule doesn't apply to interim hires, and Irsay confirmed the front office would go through a standard hiring process during the offseason, per Grant Gordon of NFL.com.

Still, even Saturday was caught off guard when Irsay called about taking over the coaching staff following the firing of Frank Reich on Monday after the team's 3-5-1 start.

"Shock would be an understatement," Saturday said. "We had the conversation and it escalated quickly. He asked me and my wife. He told me he was going to meet with Chris [Ballard] about it. As the day progressed, we finally came to a conclusion. It was a 12-hour whirlwind. It was a late call."

His only coaching experience came with the Hebron Christian Academy at the high school level from 2017 through 2020.

The NFL entered the 2022 season with just three Black head coaches—Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Lovie Smith (Houston Texans) and Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers). The number increased to four when the Carolina Panthers promoted Steve Wilks to interim head coach following the firing of Matt Rhule.

In February, commissioner Roger Goodell said the league "fell short" in its efforts to increase the number of minority hires.

"I think we have to continue to look and find and step back and say, 'We're not doing a good enough job here.' We need to find better solutions and better outcomes," Goodell said. "Let's find more effective policies. Let's make sure everyone understands. Let's make sure that we're looking at diversity and incentivizing that for everybody in our building."

Meanwhile, Saturday will make his debut on the Colts sideline Sunday when they visit Allegiant Stadium to take on the Las Vegas Raiders.