Tony Dungy first thought Colts' hiring of Jeff Saturday was 'crazy'

Add Tony Dungy to the list of people who had doubts about Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay naming Jeff Saturday his interim coach. 

According to Matthew VanTryon of the Indianapolis Star, Dungy explained during an appearance on the "Kevin and Query" show that he was "shocked" Irsay fired head coach Frank Reich. Saturday was serving as an ESPN analyst who possessed no NFL or college coaching experience. Saturday was named interim coach that same day. 

"But, Jeff, the more I thought about it, it was really kind of logical," Dungy said about initially considering temporary replacements for Reich. "He had been with the organization for a long time. He had been with Frank in training camp, he knew the offense. He knew the terminology. There's very few people you could get from the outside that would have that. And he had this relationship with Jim. He's the guy who was a leader. He could galvanize the locker room, and the offensive line was the one unit that was underperforming, so who better than Jeff Saturday to maybe re-energize that offensive line? 

"At first you say, 'This is weird, this is crazy,' but then the more you really thought about it, it made sense." 

Saturday, a former center who earned six Pro Bowl nods during his playing career, guided the Colts to a 25-20 victory at the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. Dungy is quite familiar with the 47-year-old, as he was Saturday's coach with the Colts across seven seasons. 

"Jeff is a leader. Jeff is a people person. Jeff is a winner," Dungy added during his comments. "A lot of things that you're looking for, he had as an offensive center." 

Dungy also credited Saturday with helping Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning change plays at the line of scrimmage on the fly when the two were teammates. 

"I saw where Jim was going with it," Dungy continued. "Yes, it's unconventional. But there were a lot of things that Jeff had that people don't realize that made him an attractive candidate."

On Thursday, the Fritz Pollard Alliance announced it "has initiated an inquiry" regarding Irsay's choosing of Saturday even though interim coach appointments aren't subject to the NFL's Rooney Rule. Saturday can't concentrate on that development, as he'll need to have his 4-5-1 Colts ready to play against the 8-1 Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.