Last week the Indianapolis Colts fired Frank Reich after a disappointing 3-5-1 start to the season and then stunned everyone when they hired Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach.
Saturday has not ever coached at the college or pro level and wasn’t a part of the Colts staff, making him a bizarre off-board choice for the interim job, with Jim Irsay defending the hire with a variety of bizarre statements at a wild and defiant press conference. The hire has been widely panned and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone within the greater NFL community willing to defend it. Among those who have torched the Colts for the decision are former All-Pro offensive lineman Joe Thomas, who called it “disrespectful,” and, most recently, Hall of Fame coach Bill Cowher.
Cowher explained on CBS’ pregame show on Sunday why the hire is such an outrage, calling it a “disgrace to the coaching profession” and noting how Saturday is skipping all of the steps that every coach has to take to get to that level — and willingly did so by turning down multiple offers to become an assistant.
“It’s a disgrace to the coaching profession.”@CowherCBS‘s emotional reaction to the Colts hiring Jeff Saturday. pic.twitter.com/B8QCSJZpPW
— NFL on CBS
(@NFLonCBS) November 13, 2022
It’s a strong statement from Cowher and the point about the assistants who have been there the entire time is an important one. It seems impossible for Saturday to get complete buy-in, not just from players, but from the rest of the staff when he jumped them in line to take a job he’s not even remotely qualified for and will have to lean on them to try and make himself look good.