Jeff Saturday was named Colts interim head coach after Indianapolis fired Frank Reich on Monday, and the retired offensive lineman may have already given his next opponent bulletin-board material.
A blowout road loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium seemed to be the last straw for Reich with owner Jim Irsay getting rid of him. But the shocking news was not the release of the fifth-year head coach, it was naming Saturday his interim replacement.
The Super Bowl champion offensive lineman is the first person to ever become a head coach without NFL or college experience since 1961. Saturday has a strong reputation with fans, but there were other viable candidates on the coaching staff. The former All-Pro center was the head coach at Hebron Christian Academy, a high school in Dacula, Ga., where he finished 20-16 across three seasons from 2017-19, according to The Athletic.
Prior to being named interim head coach, Saturday was an NFL analyst for ESPN and was not shy about sharing his takes on Twitter, which is fine for an analyst, but it’s a different story if you’re in the league. But, despite the tweet being made last Sunday, NFL fans were quick to point out a specific tweet, which so happened to be about the team Saturday will make his heading coaching debut against.
“Raiders look horrible,” Saturday tweeted.
Again, this was the analyst in Saturday speaking and certainly not the interim head coach, but he wasn’t wrong. The Raiders were shutout by the New Orleans Saints the day the 47-year-old made that tweet, and things have not gotten better for Las Vegas as it blew a 17-point lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9.
The Raiders are 2-6 heading into their Week 10 contest against the Colts, and Las Vegas opened as six-point favorites. While all eyes will be on Saturday, Josh McDaniels could join Frank Reich in the unemployment pool if Las Vegas continues to free fall.
