The Indianapolis Colts completed their head coach interview with Jeff Saturday, the team announced Thursday.
Following his interim tenure during the final eight games of the 2022 regular season, it was expected that Saturday was going to get his chance at interviewing for the permanent role.
Saturday’s interview marks the eighth candidate the Colts have brought in since the end of the regular season.
You can follow along for the latest updates with the head coach search via our tracker.
We have completed an interview with Jeff Saturday.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) January 19, 2023
Despite having no prior coaching experience at either the NFL or college levels, owner Jim Irsay made the decision midseason to hire Saturday following the firing of former head coach Frank Reich.
Saturday’s tenure started off with a bang, defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 25-20 in his first ever game as a head coach. The rest of the season, however, was not as much fun.
The Colts followed that up with a seven-game losing streak to end the season. It was clear Saturday’s inexperience as a coach was a detriment to any chances the Colts had to put together a late-season run.
During his tenure, the Colts had a -87 point differential. That was (surprisingly) the second-worst mark during that time. He also was the head coach for two historic moments. The first came against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13 when they scored 33 unanswered points in the fourth quarter in primetime.
Then, coming out of the bye in Week 15, the Colts blew the largest lead in NFL history, allowing the Minnesota Vikings to erase a 36-3 lead during the second half of that game.
In any other instance, Saturday wouldn’t even be considered as a head coach candidate. But his excellent playing career with the Colts, his charisma and charm, and his intellect as a former player is why Irsay made the impulsive move in the first place.
The head coaching search will be led by general manager Chris Ballard, but the decision ultimately resides with owner Jim Irsay, which means Saturday is certainly in play.
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