Colts Legend Jeff Saturday Named Interim HC After Frank Reich's Firing

Jeff Saturday is the interim head coach of the Colts.

Frank Reich, the head coach of the Colts, was fired after the team's poor performance.

Saturday spent 13 seasons with the Colts and went on to play for the Packers. He was an All-Pro two times.

The decision to make Saturday the head coach is a shock. He turned down the chance to become the Colts' offensive line coach because he had no experience as a head coach.

Field Yates @FieldYates

As best as I can tell, Jeff Saturday becomes the first person in NFL history to be named a head coach without any coaching experience at either the NFL or college level.

He now takes over in Indy.

The Rooney Rule does not apply when an interim head coach is hired. When Saturday ignores the line to this degree, it's not good for the image.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet

From NFL Now: The #Colts hire Jeff Saturday as their interim coach, a move that no doubt highly qualified candidates who are minorities have noted. pic.twitter.com/BU0RgY35LX

Some internal candidates would have been better suited to succeed Reich.

Zak Keefer @zkeefer

The Colts bypass two former NFL head coaches already on staff — Gus Bradley, John Fox — and a rising head-coaching candidate in Bubba Ventrone, to name former center Jeff Saturday the interim coach.

That is a real sentence.

The benching of Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger made the offense worse. The Colts had just 121 total yards and averaged 2.0 yards per play.

Reich, who had two playoff trips in his first four years, was let go for a new coach about to start his career.

It seems like Indianapolis is concentrating on the draft position.

The plan may go beyond bringing back a fan favorite to build goodwill for a time.

Zak Keefer @zkeefer

From what I've heard, wouldn't be stunned if this is more of an audition for Jeff Saturday than your typical interim role.

As in: Colts want to see if he could be the full-time answer at head coach. Why else go outside the building with other qualified candidates?

The Colts had one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Manning. They tanked their way into AndrewLuck. Their presence was a stabilizing force for the organization, and the sudden retirement of Luck has allowed Indianapolis' internal problems to rise to the surface.

The revolving door at the quarterback was the first sign of that. Concerns about the long-term direction of the Colts will be raised by Monday'scoaching change.