Joe Thomas: Jeff Saturday Hiring by Colts 1 of Most Disrespectful Things I've Seen

Former NFL offensive lineman Joe Thomas sounded off Friday on the Indianapolis Colts' decision to hire Jeff Saturday as interim head coach.

Appearing on NFL Network's Good Morning Football, Thomas called Saturday's hiring "one of the most disrespectful things I've ever seen in my entire life."

Thomas' main point of contention is Saturday and Colts owner Jim Irsay likely didn't give enough consideration to the "commitment, the lifestyle and the experience that it takes" to be a coach of any kind in the NFL, let alone a head coach.

There have been many criticisms directed at Irsay for his decision to hire Saturday as Frank Reich's replacement for the rest of this season.

Perhaps the biggest issue that has been raised was the Colts' ability to skirt the Rooney Rule by bringing Saturday in on an interim basis.

Irsay attempted to dismiss the criticism during Monday's press conference by naming two former Black head coaches for the Colts.

"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 Colts were not obligated to interview minority candidates in this case because Saturday is an interim head coach hired during the season. They will have to interview minority candidates during the offseason before naming a full-time head coach.

Another significant issue is Saturday has no previous coaching experience at the college or NFL level. He did go 20-16 in three seasons as a head coach at a Georgia high school from 2017 to 2020.

Saturday had been working as an NFL analyst for ESPN prior to being named Colts interim head coach. The 47-year-old spent the first 13 years of his 14-year NFL career in Indianapolis. He was a six-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro and was inducted into the Colts' ring of honor in 2015.