Jeff Saturday Completes Interview for Colts' Full-Time HC Job After Interim Stint
January 19, 2023
The Indianapolis Colts announced Thursday that they completed their interview with Jeff Saturday as part of their coaching search.
Saturday replaced Frank Reich as head coach on an interim basis midway through the 2022 NFL season. The Colts finished 1-7 under his watch.
Saturday's hiring was met with widespread criticism because he had never worked at the college or pro coaching levels before. To say the six-time Pro Bowler skipped the line would also be an understatement.
Some also wondered at the time whether Indianapolis was effectively attempting to bypass NFL hiring guidelines since the Rooney Rule doesn't apply for interim coaches. Saturday would have a clear leg up on the competition assuming he was a candidate for the full-time role.
"If the Colts end up hiring Jeff Saturday, then that would not only make a mockery of the Rooney Rule, but it'd make a mockery of the entire hiring process in the NFL in general," one NFL insider said to The Athletic's Zak Keefer.
Saturday's tenure did little to dispel the notion he was out of his depth.
The Colts were on the wrong end of the largest comeback in NFL history in a 39-36 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and they also allowed 33 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of their 54-19 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.
Saturday is far from the only person to interview with the Colts, so it remains to be seen whether he gets the job. The other contenders include Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka.
If Indianapolis goes through this entire process just to stick with Saturday, the franchise is bound to face even more scrutiny than it did in November.