The Indianapolis Colts had hoped they would be a dark horse Super Bowl contender this season, but instead, they finished just 4-12 and fired head coach Frank Reich after he went 3-5-1 in nine games.
Jeff Saturday, whose only head coaching experience had been at the high school level, was hired as their interim head coach, and he did even worse than Reich, going 1-7.
Still, there is a chance Indianapolis makes him its permanent head coach moving forward.
#Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday “remains in the running” for the permanent head coaching job, according to @AlbertBreer pic.twitter.com/yMaiqco6JF
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 23, 2023
The Colts thought they had fortified their roster when they traded for veteran quarterback Matt Ryan, who had once taken the Atlanta Falcons to the brink of a Super Bowl championship, during the offseason.
Combined with the talents of star running back Jonathan Taylor and rising young wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., some thought the Colts could finish first in the AFC South.
But Taylor played in just 11 games due to injury and finished with 861 rushing yards, four touchdowns and 4.5 yards per carry, which seemed underwhelming considering he had registered 1,811 yards and 18 touchdowns, both of which led the NFL, in 2021.
Ryan, meanwhile, looked like he was over the hill, throwing just 14 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions while posting the second-lowest passer rating of his career at 83.9.
After the Colts blew a 33-0 lead and lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 15, Ryan was benched in favor of Nick Foles.
While it may not be fair to pin all of the team’s troubles on Saturday, one has to wonder why it would be OK with such an inexperienced head coach moving forward.
