The Indianapolis Colts shockingly hired Jeff Saturday as interim head coach but there could be a hidden motive behind the surprise move.
Monday was a roller coaster for the Indianapolis Colts. After falling to 3-5-1 on the season with a loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, Indy made the decision to fire Frank Reich. While the timing of the move was shocking, many could see that Reich’s time with the Colts was coming to an end. However, the shock from the timing of that move can’t even compare to what Indy did next. After not immediately naming an interim head coach, Indianapolis eventually announced that franchise legend, Jeff Saturday, would be the team’s interim coach.
This move took the entire NFL world by surprise. Not only was Saturday not a part of Indy’s coaching staff before Monday, but he didn’t have any prior coaching experience in the NFL or college prior to being hired by Indianapolis. His only coaching experience at all was being the head coach of the Hebron Christian Academy football team in Dacula, Georgia. To the public, it just looks like Indianapolis skipped over all plausible options and went straight to Saturday.
This has led to many reporters and fans trying to figure out why, why would the Colts hire Saturday, someone with no high-level coaching experience? Since the announcement of the move, many have speculated and reported on some possible hidden motives that Indy may have with this latest move. Let’s take a look at 3 hidden motives that would explain this move that blindsided the NFL.
3. Colts could’ve hired Jeff Saturday to tank
Many fans have been calling for Indianapolis to tank, and while a professional team will never admit to doing it, what better way to tank than hiring a coach with no experience to take over a struggling team in the middle of the season? Indy could dress it up as giving a franchise legend a serious chance to be a coach, and the outcome could be the team losing every game for the remainder of the year and ending up with a high draft pick.
Even prior to the hiring of Saturday, it already didn’t look like the Colts would win many more games. Now that expectation really has to plummet with Jeff Saturday in charge. That’s no disrespect to Saturday but he’s entering into a pretty bad situation. As things currently stand, Indy doesn’t have a coach on staff that has ever called plays in the NFL before.
With factors like those in play and a first-time coach with no prior experience, Indianapolis could already be turning its attention to the draft.