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Jim Irsay, owner, and new interim head coach Jeff Saturday have a laugh on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, during a press conference at the Colts headquarters in Indianapolis. Robert Scheer/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Debate grows after Jeff Saturday's stunning hire in Indianapolis

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Nov 8, 2022 2:23 PM ET

Jeff Saturday — like many of us — was tweeting about his fantasy football team during NFL games two weekends ago.

Something wrong with my fantasy stats. Says Devante Adams has 0…0 for the first half‍♂️‍♂️
— Jeff Saturday (@SaturdayJeff) October 30, 2022

Unlike everyone else, he parlayed that into a head coaching job.

Saturday's shocking hire, critics argue, is just another sign of the opportunities given to white coaches at the expense of more qualified minority candidates.

I say this as a fan of Jeff Saturday the player and person: it's absolutely ridiculous that he's the head coach of an NFL team.
— Derek Schultz (@Schultz975) November 7, 2022

Jeff Saturday might be great, but the hire is peak *not reading the room* when it comes to the entire conversation surrounding lack of opportunity for minority coaches.
— Lindsay Rhodes (@lindsay_rhodes) November 7, 2022

We can say it: Jeff Saturday is completely unqualified to be an NFL head coach. https://t.co/Kh3NfclPJ8
— Tanya Ray Fox (@TanyaRayFox) November 7, 2022

Jeff Saturday just became the head coach of an NFL team, without any prior coaching experience in the NFL or college football.

There are Black coaches in the NFL that have been assistants for years that can’t even get serious interviews to be a head coach.

Amazing.
— Colb (@___Colb___) November 7, 2022

I like Jeff Saturday and enjoyed working with him at ESPN. This is not a critique of him, but rather a NFL system that constantly moves the goalposts for white coaches, but holds Black coaches to tighter standards. A Black coach likely would never be in Jeff’s position.
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) November 7, 2022

By all accounts, Jeff Saturday is a very nice, capable person, and I hope he does well in Indianapolis.

This hiring is also a reminder that the arbitrary experience roadblocks put out in front of minority candidates are nonsense.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 7, 2022

Others, including Bomani Jones, argued that making a minority coach the face of a failing franchise could do more harm to his reputation than having the opportunity at all. As few opportunities as are given to minority candidates, teams look for any reason to disqualify someone. Posting a losing record — no matter where — would be a disqualification.

i understand what many are saying about the saturday “hire,” but this ain’t a rooney rule thing unless he gets the full-time job. there wouldn’t be any progress in a black or brown man taking a tank job on an interim basis. hell, that might ruin someone’s future chances.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) November 7, 2022

There's no doubt that a dumpster fire would look at the Colts right now and say, "You need some water." Even so, NFL coaching opportunities are finite. Many coaches would jump at the opportunity. Only for some do franchises lower the bar.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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