Jim Irsay wants something specific in the next head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and Jeff Saturday has it. That’s why Saturday is a candidate.
To a lot of people’s dismay, Jeff Saturday is a candidate to be the next head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Everyone feels that this is all Jim Irsay’s doing because he wants him to be the team’s next head coach. After all, it was Irsay who randomly hired Saturday to be the team’s interim head coach. Could Jim Irsay already have his mind set on Jeff Saturday despite the fact that the Colts are interviewing every candidate under the sun? Maybe, but Irsay isn’t a man without reason. He’s looking for something specific in his team’s next head coach, and Saturday has that something.
In a recent piece by The Athletic’s Zak Keefer, Keefer detailed how Irsay wanted former head coach, Frank Reich, to be more commanding with the team and do a better job of holding everyone accountable. Obviously, Reich didn’t do that to Irsay’s standards, and that’s why he was let go in the middle of this past season. Jeff Saturday, on the other hand, that’s one of his strengths. He’s a fiery and direct person that demands accountability from everyone. That’s probably why Irsay wants him to be in charge of the team.
One thing that stood out to me from Zak Keefer’s article is that Jim Irsay wanted Frank Reich to be a more fiery guy that holds players accountable.
— Zach Hicks (@ZachHicks2) January 6, 2023
If Jeff Saturday isn’t the next HC, the next guy will probably be more of the rah rah type from reading between the lines
Jeff Saturday will hold the Colts accountable and Jim Irsay loves that
Although Saturday didn’t have the best of times during his eight-game stretch as an interim head coach, his passion and accountability were two strengths that shined through the seven consecutive losses. As soon as Saturday took over, there were reports about him stopping practices and demanding that players fix all of the minor details to execute plays. He routinely challenged the offensive line and he also won over a lot of Indy’s locker room leaders.
Shaquille Leonard, DeForest Buckner, and Ryan Kelly all praised Saturday for the way he ran things and held the team accountable, and they also were in support of him returning for another season as the team’s actual head coach. With star players and the owner possibly on Jeff Saturday’s side, he has to be a favorite to be Indy’s next head coach.
Not that Irsay cares, but fans and members of the media won’t just accept that Jeff Saturday has been named head coach because he’ll hold guys accountable. Arguments would be made that the Colts could find that same trait in several of the more experienced candidates that they are interviewing, which is a fair point. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen and the decision is ultimately Jim Irsay’s.
Can Bryce Young make the Colts go against everything Chris Ballard preaches about scouting?
Will the Indianapolis Colts change their scouting methods and move up to select Alabama’s quarterback Bryce Young in the 2023 NFL Draft?