The Indianapolis Colts held a press conference Monday night introducing Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, and it went about as well as one would think.
Owner Jim Irsay made it clear, both directly and indirectly, that this decision to fire Frank Reich and hire Saturday was made through impulse and the desire to bring 2000s nostalgia back to the Circle City.
One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is how Irsay can be comfortable hiring a coach midseason when that coach doesn’t have any experience beyond a few seasons at the high school level.
Irsay told the media he thinks it’s better Saturday doesn’t have coaching experience. His reasoning for that simply leaves us with more question marks about the rationale behind the decision.
“Now, I am glad he doesn’t have any NFL experience. I’m glad he hasn’t learned the fear that’s in this league because it’s tough for all of our coaches,” Irsay said. “They’re afraid. They go to analytics and it gets difficult. I mean, he doesn’t have all that. He doesn’t have that fear and there was no other candidate.”
The shot at analytics doesn’t really make sense. It’s not surprising someone like Irsay, who has been around the game his entire life, isn’t a fan of analytics. The traditionalists and purists often point to analytics when they discuss their issues with the current coaching landscape.
But those issues regarding analytics are typically voiced when a coach is being too aggressive, not fearful or conservative. It’s usually when a coach is often willing to go for it on fourth down or when they lean on historical data to help with a decision that we hear complaints about how “analytics are ruining the game.”
Irsay also made some contradictive statements about how even though Saturday lacks coaching experience, he’s fully qualified to take over this job on a whim.
“He is fully experienced enough. Yes, he is fully capable. He’s extremely smart. He’s extremely competitive. He understands the game,” Irsay said.
What Irsay is likely referring to is Saturday’s experience from playing in the NFL. No one should deny that does have value, and Saturday has been around a lot of winners. But there’s a massive difference between playing and coaching.
That difference in mindset becomes even starker when considering Saturday quite literally has no experience in the coaching realm above the high school level.
When asked why Saturday was the better fit over other coaches on the staff who already have experience, Irsay essentially gave a “because I said so” justification.
“Because he’s a better fit. He’s the best man for the job,” Irsay said. “The last coach I hired as an interim head coach was Bruce Arians. It was the right coach. He was the best guy. That’s why.”
So while Saturday seems like a genuine person and eventually could turn into a good coach, the rationale behind the move is far gone. It’s clear this move was made out of impulse because there’s a natural progression to becoming a head coach.
Chris Ballard even admitted to their past attempts to hire Saturday as the offensive line coach. Hiring him for that role and then promoting him would have made more sense. It wouldn’t have made a ton of sense, but at least Saturday would have some experience of the coaching life before running an entire team.
Instead, Irsay is seemingly forcing this move to be made because he was fed up with the direction of the team.
The issue, though, is that Monday night’s press conference constructed a perception that this situation could very well become more of a trainwreck than it already is.
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