The Indianapolis Colts have been hard at work interviewing a vast landscape of candidates for their head coach vacancy over the last two weeks and are preparing to narrow down the list for a second round of interviews.
By the end of Sunday, the Colts will have interviewed 13 candidates—Wink Martindale is set for the afternoon—and they are still expected to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
Buy Colts TicketsAccording to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Colts are preparing to narrow down the list of candidates in the coming days, and it should be noted that owner Jim Irsay has not been a part of the interviews up to this point.
“This entire first round of interviews has been virtual, and I’m told owner Jim Irsay has not been in any of those interviews,” Pelissero said. “The plan is in the next couple of days, to pare down that list of 13 and set up a second round of interviews later this week that will be in person with Irsay involved.”
The @NFLGameDay Notebook with @MikeGarafolo and @TomPelissero: #49ers QB Brock Purdy is staking his claim to the starting job in 2023; The #Giants hope to have Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley back next year; The #Colts have interviewed a LOT of people with Mike Kafka the latest. pic.twitter.com/Ye0POVnKSP
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 22, 2023
It’s difficult to truly know who will be a part of the finalist group for the second round of interviews, but it’s encouraging that the Colts are making progress in this development.
There hasn’t been a certain type of coach the Colts have targeted. They’ve interviewed coaches with experience and background in all three phases of the game.
As for interim head coach Jeff Saturday, Pelissero reported that he remains in the mix for the second round of interviews.
“Jeff Saturday remains a candidate for this position. Irsay believes in him and wants him to have a chance despite his 1-7 record as the interim head coach. However, I’m told Irsay will be open-minded in this process.”
Time will tell who will be on the final list of candidates, but it appears they’re preparing to narrow that list down soon.
You can follow along for the latest updates with the head coach search via our tracker.
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