One of the biggest questions that Jeff Saturday needed to answer before taking to the sidelines for his first game as the Colts interim head coach was who would be calling the plays for the team. It seems as though Saturday has his answer, as assistant quarterbacks coach Parks Frazier is expected to handle the responsibility, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport.
Frazier, 30, also serves as the Colts’ passing game specialist, having worked his way up the ladder since arriving in Indianapolis in 2018 as an assistant to former head coach Frank Reich. He previously worked as an assistant at Samford, Middle Tennessee State and Arkansas State after having played quarterback himself at Northeast Mississippi Community College and Murray State.
Saturday’s unorthodox choice will result in quite the promotion for Frazier, who will put his skills to the test come Sunday in Las Vegas.
The move also continues a series of head-scratching moves made by the Colts since firing Reich on Monday afternoon. Team owner Jim Irsay opted to go with Saturday, a former Colts center and current ESPN analyst, as the interim head coach, despite Saturday having no coaching experience at the college or NFL level. In a press conference later in the day, Irsay touted Saturday’s inexperience as an actual positive for the franchise moving forward.
“I’m glad he doesn’t have any NFL experience,” Irsay told reporters. “I’m glad he hasn’t learned the fear,” explaining that coaches who are afraid of making mistakes often rely on analytics when making decisions.
Saturday only boasts a handful of years of coaching experience at the high school level, making Frazier actually more experienced for his play-calling position. Both will make their debuts in their new roles against the Raiders on Sunday.
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