The Colts went outside the organization to hire an interim head coach, naming former player Jeff Saturday to the position Nov. 7 after firing Frank Reich. The Rooney Rule does not apply to interim coaches, so the Colts did not have to interview minority candidates before naming Saturday to the position.
That won’t change going forward despite concerns from the Fritz Pollard Alliance over the Colts’ hiring process.
“We have talked about interim coach hirings in our committee, and we just decided that in terms of requiring Rooney Rule interviews and all of the hiring requirements we now have in place for the head coach that it’s just impossible to require that for an interim head coach,” Steelers president Art Rooney II, chair of the NFL’s workplace diversity committee, said Wednesday at the owners meetings in Irving, Texas. ". . .We don’t think there’s a lot we can about the interim coach situation. It’s just the timing that needs to apply to a situation like that just doesn’t allow for all of the policies to be enforced in that situation.”
Saturday, who is white, had no previous coaching experience before taking the job, which prompted criticism of the move.
The Colts, though, will have to comply with the Rooney Rule before naming Saturday to the full-time job. League rules provide that no ongoing commitments can be made to an interim head coach.
“Once the season’s over, the position has to be declared vacant, and they have to comply with all the rules,” Rooney said. “So as much as coach Saturday might be a candidate, they still have to go through all the procedures and requirements to fill the position that any other club would have. . . . The requirements still are there after the season, and we expect they’ll be complied with.”
The league makes clear that the Colts have “no barrier” to hiring Saturday on a full-time basis once the process has been concluded. But are minority coaches going to be reluctant to interview with the Colts after the season?
During Saturday’s introductory news conference last month, Colts owner Jim Irsay said the hire is for “eight games and hopefully more,” and Saturday said Tuesday he wants the job.
“I’m looking forward to the interview process,” Irsay said Wednesday. “I think Jeff’s a candidate, but there’s a lot of great candidates out there. I think there’s a lot of great candidates in college. I think the pool needs to be broadened somewhat more. There’s some great college coaches that may be capable. There’s some unknown coaches that may be capable.”
