Former Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday thanked the club after it officially hired Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen as head coach on Tuesday.
“I’m so grateful for the last eight weeks of the season and the opportunity to represent you guys,” Saturday said in a video he shared on Twitter, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. “I appreciate the coaches for all your time, energy, and effort. All of the players laying it out there each and every week, I can’t tell you how much I respect and appreciate what each and every player — not only for the Colts but the NFL — do and what they put on the line each and every week.”
Saturday admitted he wishes “we would’ve done better” during his tenure that began back on Nov. 7.
Saturday held no coaching experience and was working as an analyst for ESPN when he heard from Colts owner Jim Irsay about replacing the fired Frank Reich after Indianapolis lost 26-3 at the New England Patriots in Week 9.
While Saturday guided the Colts to a surprising 25-20 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in his coaching debut, Indianapolis then lost the final seven games of the season.
It was noted last month that some Colts fans started a petition urging Irsay to not make Saturday the team’s full-time head coach. That petition had over 4,200 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
“So, for everybody out there — including however many thousand who signed a petition, which may have included my wife and son, not exactly sure,” Saturday said while chuckling during his video message. “But in all honesty, I’m so grateful for Colts nation and who you are. To represent the horseshoe, it meant the world to me.”
Saturday offered his best wishes to Steichen and to Indianapolis fans. The 47-year-old who played center for the Colts from 1999 through the 2011 season insisted he’ll still be pulling for the franchise.
As for Saturday’s job future, Brandon Contes of Awful Announcing pointed out Robert Griffin III joked ahead of Super Bowl LVII this past Sunday that ESPN is probably “getting Jeff Saturday back” sooner rather than later.
