Jeff Saturday's Hire as Colts HC Ripped by Execs: 'Never Seen Anything Like It'

NFL executives are just as perplexed as fans about the Indianapolis Colts' hiring of Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach.

“Never seen anything like it,” an executive told Jeff Howe of The Athletic. “Will never see anything like it again.”

Indianapolis hired Saturday, a longtime former Colts center who has no coaching experience above the high school level, to replace the fired Frank Reich on Monday. The decision drew widespread scorn from fans and the media alike, many of whom pointed out Saturday's lack of experience and the bad optics given the NFL's disappointing record of hiring Black coaches and others from historically excluded groups.

“It’s hard to fathom what is going on there,” a team executive told Howe.

Even Saturday himself seemed in awe of how his first NFL coaching job came together.

"Shocked would be an understatement," Saturday told reporters Monday night. "We had a conversation and it escalated quickly. He asked me and my wife. He told me he was going to meet with [general manager] 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."

Irsay, for his part, has vehemently defended his decision. He said there was "no other candidate" for the job despite Colts assistants Gus Bradley and John Fox each having head-coaching experience.

"I'm glad he doesn't have any NFL experience," Irsay said. "I'm glad he hasn't learned the fear that's in this league, because it's tough for all our coaches. They're afraid. They go to analytics and it gets difficult.

"He doesn't have all that. He doesn't have that fear. And there was no other candidate. We were fortunate he was available. And he has tons of experience. He knows this game inside and out with relationships with coaches and players. I understand that he’s fully capable of doing this."

The NFL said Irsay did not violate the league's Rooney Rule in hiring Saturday, given it does not apply to interim assignments. The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview candidates from historically excluded groups for head coaching and major front-office positions and recently began awarding compensatory draft picks to teams that produce nonwhite and female coaches who are hired as head coaches.

The Colts will have to comply with the Rooney Rule before hiring a full-time coach.