Jim Irsay apparently has his mind made up on who he wants to be the Colts’ next coach. Others in the organization, however, do n’t seem to be in agreement on his choice.
The Indianapolis owner wants to drop the interim label from Jeff Saturday’s title and to hand him the head job, CBS’ Josina Anderson reported on Wednesday.
But there are people within the organization who work closely with Irsay who don’t hold the same opinion of the former Colts center, according to Anderson.
Saturday, 47, took over in November after Frank Reich was fired following a 3-5-1 start that included an abysmal 26-3 loss to the Patriots. A six-time Pro Bowler who spent 12 of his 13 seasons in Indianapolis before going into TV as an analyst, Saturday was 1-7 in the interim role.
The Colts’ 4-12-1 mark was the team’s worst record since 2017 and the team was blasted for its decision to hire Saturday, whose only previous coaching experience was at the high school level.
Yet, Saturday is reportedly likely to get a second interview for the job.
“I’ve never heard of a player having the opportunity to go be a head coach,” Saturday said in an interview with NBC Sports’ Peter King following his debut, a 25-20 victory over the Raiders in Week 10. “First of all, I would want it because I love this organization. I care about not only the players and coaches but the organization, right? My adulthood was forged here. It is my home. Indianapolis totally changed the direction of our lives. So how do you say no to this? So I said I’m gonna do it.”
Whether he and Irsay get their wish of Saturday becoming the team’s next head coach remains to be seen, though.
Indianapolis reportedly has second interviews set up with seven other candidates, including Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
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