The head coach of the Indianapolis Colts has compared a recent signing to an all-time great, which is problematic.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Jeff Saturday spent Monday praising the players for their efforts during the last eight games for the Indianapolis Colts and making the case to retain his coaching position, free of the interim tag.
That answer and others will come to him eventually. This franchise needs to decide what comes next first.
After the Colts ended another disappointing 4-12-1 season with a last-minute collapse, they started analyzing what went wrong, what needed to change, and who would return from what looked to be an unpredictable and possibly turbulent offseason.
The 37-year-old quarterback Matt Ryan said, “It was a tough year.” It was difficult and disappointing for me personally, as well as, I believe, for the entire team. We had great hopes for the season when we started. The season wasn’t as successful as we had hoped. We could all use a little vacation, in my opinion.
After missing the playoffs for the third time in the previous four years, they are taking a longer vacation than anticipated. Since making it to the AFC championship game in 2014, Indianapolis has only won once in the postseason.
However, the issue is more serious.
It is highly likely that Indianapolis will begin the seventh consecutive season with a new starting quarterback, and the instability proved costly this year.
The Colts benched Ryan for the first time and let go of offensive coordinator Marcus Brady in October of that year. Owner Jim Irsay fired play-calling coach Frank Reich in November and reinstated former center Scott, who was working as an ESPN studio analyst.
Still, not much has changed.
The Colts lost their final seven games to secure the No. 4 overall draft pick in April and potentially a new franchise quarterback after winning his first game in Las Vegas on Saturday.
So who will be in charge come autumn? A few players gave him acclaim on Saturday for his performance in spite of difficult circumstances. However, Irsay and general manager Chris Ballard might consider a different candidate with a more impressive background and track record.
Even though Irsay has stated that Saturday will be involved, he has also committed to carrying out a thorough search that complies with the Rooney Rule.
Irsay stated in a recent ESPN interview that “the head coach is unknown until the interview process goes forward.” “I’ll approach it with an open mind, seeking the best course of action to ensure our victory. I think Jeff is a very strong candidate.
However, keeping Saturday or appointing a coach will only be the beginning.
As Irsay has stated, if he also retains Ballard as general manager, Ballard will have to unravel the mystery of an offensive line that appeared to go from strength to weakness almost instantly. Indianapolis finished 23rd in rushing (109.8 yards) and gave up the second-highest number of sacks (60).
Center Ryan Kelly stated, “We just could never get the run game going, and that was kind of the Achilles’ heel.” You just wish there were a lot of things you could have done better because there were a lot of communication breakdowns regarding protection. There were simply too many circumstances, and we need to improve our performance the following year.
