Kyle Brandt has an issue with Jeff Saturday’s new employer, as well as his previous one.
In a stunning turn of events, the Indianapolis Colts on Monday named Saturday their interim head coach shortly after firing Frank Reich. Saturday previously had never coached above the high school level, making him only the second person in NFL history to lead a team without coaching experience in college and/or the pros.
Brandt took the Colts to task for their coaching decision on Tuesday’s episode of “Good Morning Football.” The NFL Network talking head also took a dig at ESPN, where Saturday was serving as an NFL analyst before taking the job in Indy.
“There is a very important note in that the league is rife with concern and sensitivity about diversity and hiring,” Brandt said. “When those problems come up, the refrain, always, to people who are frustrated is ‘Oh, no, no, no. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin, it’s about the résumé. He has the best résumé. What do you say here? Because he was a high school coach and he was on ESPN screaming on ‘Get Up’? It’s an interesting media thing, too, because this is an ESPN employee and I’d be fascinated to hear if anyone at ESPN has something critical to say about Jeff Saturday in this case or is it just, ‘Ah, we’re happy for Jeff.’ If I’m the Colts, I’m embarrassed.”
The chirp didn’t sit well with Saturday’s now-former colleague, Ryan Clark, who called Brandt out on Twitter.
“Say @KyleBrandt stick to talking about the people that cover football at your network. We are good over here. Be well,” Clark tweeted Wednesday evening.
Clark had every reason to be irked by Brandt’s shot. The former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back, like Brandt, gave his own thoughtful analysis of the Saturday hire and broke down the troubling message it sends.
The Colts will play their first game under Saturday’s watch Sunday when they visit the Las Vegas Raiders.
