Ranking the Colts head coaching candidates
By Noah Compton
13. Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday
By now it’s no secret that what Jeff Saturday lacks most as a candidate, is the fact he has no coaching experience. At least that was true when they named him interim head coach, but since then, he’s only added said gig to his resume. Therefore, there’s little to no additional reason to be considering Saturday for a full-time head-coaching role.
Prior to the Jeff Saturday experience, Saturday did have experience within the Colts’ front office, as he was what’s known as a team consultant— taking what he hears and knows from around the league as an ESPN Analyst, further helping the organization via his overall knowledge.
To be fair, the 2022 Colts did improve in some areas after he took over as interim head coach. Those areas include:
- Rushing Yards/game went from 30th in the league to 12th
- Rushing Yards/attempt went from 30th to 10th
- Pass Protection went from 29th to 11th
If anything, I think Jeff Saturday would be best suited as an offensive line coach. Would he be inclined to take a far lesser role, that’s the catch. It seems that if Saturday isn’t retained as head coach of the Colts, he will return to ESPN as an analyst.
12. Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
If there’s any interim head coach of recent that deserves to take over the said team for the foreseeable future, it’s probably Rich Bisaccia when he became interim head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021. Under Bisaccia, the team rallied hard en route to a 7-5 finish (10-7 overall) and a playoff appearance— only losing by a touchdown to the eventual AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals.
Bisaccia has 20 years of experience in the NFL as a special teams coordinator. Most recently, he helped the Packers take a 10-spot jump in Special Teams Rankings.
11. Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy
With Bieniemy coordinating the offense, the Chiefs’ offense has remained one of the NFL’s best offenses by a wide range of statistics. Since he became offensive coordinator in 2018, the Chiefs have remained a top-six scoring offense (PPG) each season (No. 1 in 2018 & 2022).
But isn’t 2018 the year Mahomes became the starter full-time? Yes, but directly alongside one of the all-time great head coaches Andy Reid, Bieniemy has helped transcend Patrick Mahomes to stardom by coordinating one of the most innovative & explosive offensive units in the NFL.
There have been theories for years as to why Bieniemy has been interviewed as many times as he has for a head coaching gig to no avail. From past legal troubles to current-day concerns as to if he possesses character concerns within the team, it’s almost as if Bieniemy wasn’t meant to be a head coach. I’m not saying that’s the case, but history seems to have written that story.
10. Giants defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale
Wink Martindale is, in all aspects, a defensive-minded coach. He has exclusively coached on that side of the ball in the NFL for 18 years now, spending the previous 10 seasons as the heart and soul of the Baltimore Ravens defense.
During his time in Baltimore, “Martindale won Super Bowl XLVII and consistently had one of the NFL’s best defenses. His unit ranked in the top three in the NFL in points allowed in each of his first three seasons, and first, fourth and seventh, respectively, in yardage yielded while never finishing lower than eighth against the run or the pass.”
The league as a whole is getting collectively younger at the head coaching spot. This doesn’t mean Martindale is at a disadvantage per se, but I do feel like organizations in this day and age are valuing youth and relatability more than ever.