Jeff

Saturday

Colts owner Jim Irsay’s lengthy, somewhat overwrought interviewing process is finally over. Steichen, coming off a Super Bowl berth as the coordinator of an elite Philadelphia offense, will have a tall task in turning around one of the NFL’s worst offenses. The Colts in 2022 ranked 30th in points per game and 27th in offensive yards per game. Only the Texans had a lower expected points added (EPA) per play than the Colts in 2022. Steichen, 37, will have to find a viable starting quarterback to start. Candidates include Derek Carr, who will reportedly be released by the Raiders. “We’re going to throw to score points and we’re going to run to win,” Steichen said at his introductory presser. Steichen developed Justin Herbert in his rookie season and oversaw Jalen Hurts’ emergence as a top-tier passer in 2022. Hiring Steichen means the Colts avoid becoming the laughing stock of the NFL by retaining interim head coach Jeff Saturday, a close friend of Irsay.

The Panthers, Texans, and Broncos have already settled on their new head coaches, while the Colts do their best to turn the process into a marathon. As Garafolo points out, a third round of interviews would be a pared-down list of finalists who received a second interview. The Colts have held second interviews with eight different coaches, the most recent being Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Interim head coach Jeff Saturday is still considered by many as the favorite to land the position, but with the team appearing to vet all options, it’s possible a new leader in the clubhouse emerges.

Martindale is among four finalists for the Colts head coaching gig, including, inexplicably, interim head coach Jeff Saturday. Martindale just completed his first season as New York’s defensive coordinator after four seasons as the Ravens’ DC. The Giants, under Martindale, allowed the fourth highest EPA per play in 2022. He could have the distinct pleasure of working for the ever-mercurial Jim Irsay if his second interview goes well.

Colts owner Jim Irsay called Saturday, who went 1-7 during his eight games as interim head coach, a “strong candidate” who would get a real shot at the full-time job. The Colts will reportedly grant second interviews to seven head coaching candidates in the coming days, meaning Saturday still has a long way to go before he clinches the job. His hiring would be another in a long string of embarrassments for the Colts, one of the foremost laughingstocks in professional sports.

Saturday is the Colts’ eighth official candidate, though he likely remains owner Jim Irsay’s preferred choice despite his 1-7 interim job. Saturday didn’t seem particularly close to being ready for a full-time gig during his half season on the job. He, of course, had an alibi in the Colts’ horrendous quarterback play, but Saturday’s game management was something out of the football stone age. He would basically have to be an entirely different coach in 2023 for this to be the right move for this suddenly in-crisis franchise.

“I have a very clear vision of how I can turn this football team around,” Saturday claimed at a Monday press conference. Saturday’s stunning mid-season replacement of Frank Reich was an unmitigated fiasco, with the team going 1-7 with a -80 point differential. Unsurprisingly, Saturday seemed to struggle with the finer points of coaching like challenges and clock management. “In his defense,” the Colts stumbled into probably the league’s worst quarterback situation, but Saturday didn’t show anything to suggest he would be the best man to fix the Colts’ manifold issues in 2023. It would be far from surprising, however, if owner Jim Irsay remains in Saturday’s corner.

Saturday, who had served as a consultant to the Colts and an analyst for ESPN before getting the interim gig, has fallen to 1-5 after a shocking win over the Raiders in his debut. He bungled his starting quarterback decision, arguably multiple times, and his team gave up the largest comeback in NFL history in Week 15. It would seem absurd to keep him installed as the head coach beyond this season, though Colts owner Jim Irsay clearly has an affinity for Saturday. An offseason of preparation would also give Saturday a better chance at success in 2023, but it would still be a puzzling decision, to say the least. Saturday is a long-shot to be the Colts’ head coach next year, but he is not out of the running yet.

This news shouldn’t come as much of a shock, as Irsay was already on record in November saying he expects Ballard to be retained as general manager. His affinity for Saturday isn’t lost on anybody, but a full slate of coaching candidates is expected to be interviewed before the team decides on a new head coach for 2023. In his brief tenure with the team, Saturday has led the Colts to a 1-4 record and played a role in the Vikings setting an NFL record for the largest comeback in league history when they overcame a 36-0 halftime deficit to down the Colts 39-36 in Week 15. Saturday’s qualifications to coach at the NFL level came under fire when Irsay opted to hire him after letting go of Frank Reich after Week 9. More qualified coaching candidates are almost certain to pass through Irsay’s office this upcoming offseason, but whether or not they can move him off his love for Saturday is anybody’s guess.

Coming off a humiliating Week 13 Sunday night loss to the Cowboys, Saturday said he is “not discouraged at all” and claims to have “a vision of what this could look like in the future, and that’s what I work toward every day.” The Colts have lost three of their four games with Saturday at the helm, and face another tough test in Week 15 against the 10-3 Vikings. Saturday said he plans to interview for the full-time head coaching spot after his shocking hiring was widely criticized, as owner Jim Irsay did not consider more qualified coaches of color to head his flailing franchise. The Colts will have to have a strong final month of the season if Saturday has any chance of continuing as head coach in 2023.

Since retiring, Saturday has served as a consultant for the Colts and an ESPN analyst. It’s a highly unconventional decision, given that Saturday was not on the Colts’ staff and has no NFL coaching experience. Colts owner Jim Irsay must have felt that a shakeup was needed in terms of team culture, which is somewhat hard to dispute after the Colts failed to show up against the Patriots in Week 9. However, Saturday has to be considered an underdog to turn things around. Per ProFootballTalk, “Jeff Saturday is the first NFL coach with no college or pro coaching experience since Norm Van Brocklin in 1961.”