When the news broke that the Colts hired Jeff Saturday as their interim head coach, the Twittersphere exploded with one unified message.
Brian Flores was right.
It began Monday afternoon when Colts owner Jim Irsay announced they had fired head coach Frank Reich and replaced him with former 6x All-Pro and Colts’ star, Jeff Saturday.
As one would expect, Saturday is well-equipped with a coaching-ready resume filled with accomplishments that make him a worthy selection.
He was the head coach of Hebron Christian Academy football team in Dacula, Georgia.
He was also a consultant for the Colts and is in their Ring of Honor.
He’s also (Google search)….Wait, that’s it?
Yes, that’s it.
In other words, as nice and funny as Jeff Saturday is, he has zero qualifications to become a head coach in the NFL, much less an interim head coach.
At one point, I actually thought it was a joke.
With all of the comedy and drama surrounding Elon Musk’s “seamless” takeover of Twitter, I assumed the news was the same type of comedy.
Unfortunately, I, along with everyone else who thought the same thing, was wrong.
This announcement was so unexpected that no one, not even conspiracy theorists, could have conjured it up. That’s how far-fetched it is.
Yet it’s a reality.
And, even more importantly, it’s additional concrete proof supporting the racial discrimination lawsuit filed against the NFL by Brian Flores and later joined by Ray Horton and Steve Wilks.
From the Twitter posts alone, the legal teams of these men must be salivating and chomping at the bit while amending their claim to add Irsay’s mind-numbing decision to the document.
Flores, the former Miami Dolphins head coach, sued the NFL, the Dolphins, Giants and other NFL teams, accusing them of sham interviews. After leading Miami to records of 5-11, 10-6 and 9-8, the Dolphins fired him and hired former 49ers offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel.
It was a shocking move because Flores did his job as the “clean up man”. He cleaned up Adam Gase’s mess, navigated the team through rough waters and worked with GM Chris Grier to acquire draft capital to build the future.
Unfortunately, Flores never had the chance to see the fruits of his labor.
Instead, McDaniel has gotten to coach a team full of talent including Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, a healthy Tua Tagovailoa and newly acquired Bradley Chubb and Jeff Wilson.
That was a team Flores rightfully deserved to coach. Instead, he’s a senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers, something he’s vastly overqualified for.
Today, the Colts made it abundantly clear that Flores was vastly underqualified for their (interim) head coaching job.
And that’s the fight that Black NFL coaches continue to face.
To be clear, this has nothing to do with Jeff Saturday the person. This has to do with his resume, readiness and the decision-making power of NFL owners.
What does Irsay’s decision say to coaches like Flores, Jim Caldwell, Anthony Lynn, Raheem Morris and Leslie Frasier?
How should men on the NFL’s vetted list of minority coaches feel?
Talented and qualified coaches like Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs), Byron Leftwich (Bucs), James Franklin (Penn State HC), Frazier (Assistant HC/Defensive Coordinator, Bills), Vance Joseph (Defensive Coordinator, Cardinals), Jerod May (Inside Linebackers, Patriots), Morris (Defensive Coordinator, Rams), DeMeco Ryans (Defensive Coordinator, 49ers), David Shaw (Stanford HC) and Mel Tucker (Michigan State HC).
Now, it’s possible that some of these men might receive a phone call from the Colts in the offseason.
But will their dreams of becoming an NFL head coach materialize? That’s a story Flores and his legal team have been fighting hard to affect, for so far the narrative has been negative.
In the last two seasons, only three Black head coaches have been hired out of 17 vacancies. And if it weren’t for Bruce Arians’ succession plan involving Todd Bowles’ promotion, that number would be two (David Culley and Lovie Smith, both by the Texans).
Saturday’s hiring is a slap in the face of these coaches.
Actually, it’s a vintage Mike Tyson haymaker in their faces.
Irsay’s announcement reveals many things.
While not saying it explicitly, he implicitly told his team that this year is essentially done and they’re playing for draft position.
He also reminded everyone that it’s his world and not a soul can do anything about it for NFL teams are not publically traded entities (Packers excluded) or democracies. They’re owned, cultivated and controlled by billionaires; a fact Daniel Snyder has manifested for decades.
Lastly, and most significantly, Irsay appeared to Timberland boot stomped all over the Rooney Rule and all efforts designed to improve the NFL’s minority coaches hiring process.
Yet, frustratingly, Saturday’s hiring doesn’t actually violate the rule because it doesn’t apply to interim head coaches during the season.
“The rule does not apply to an interim head coach during the season,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy told Profootballtalk.com by email. “It does apply after the conclusion of the team’s season. The club would have to fulfill the rule before hiring a full-time coach.”
While his decision insults and infuriates every single qualified NFL coach, especially Black coaches, it reinvigorates Brian Flores’ lawsuit and gives his legal team some additional firepower to combat the NFL’s attempt at sheltering the league from disclosure.
Irsay revealed the ugly part out loud and confirmed what we all already knew.
Brian Flores is right.
