Colts’ Jim Irsay, Chris Ballard Fail to Provide Confidence in Direction of the Franchise

As the Colts capped off a whirlwind news day, their leaders left much to be desired with their answers regarding the recent changes and the season as a whole.

The Indianapolis Colts were set to hold an introductory press conference for their interim head coach on Monday evening.

The press conference was originally scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. EST. The Colts then moved the presser back to 7:30 p.m. and then to 8 p.m. Finally, after almost 30 minutes of technical issues with the Colts’ stream of the presser, it began.

The press conference and everything that led up to it yesterday pretty much captures the entire mood surrounding the Colts organization at this point. Dysfunctional, confusing, left without direction. All of those words can be used to describe the feeling coming out of W 56th Street.

The Colts decided to part ways with head coach Frank Reich on Monday after a 26-3 loss to the New England Patriots. The Colts are 3-5-1 on the season and have the worst offense in the NFL, the area Reich was specifically brought in for. The way the season was going, the writing was on the wall that sooner or later, Reich would be fired.

What people did not expect was for the Colts to name former Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday as the interim head coach. Saturday had a fantastic playing career with the Colts. He was named to six Pro Bowls, a core member of the Colts’ winning Super Bowl XLI team, and a member of the Colts’ Ring of Honor.

But Saturday is not a current member of the Colts coaching staff and has never coached at the NFL or collegiate level before. The only coaching experience Saturday has is three years as the head coach of Hebron Christian High School. His record as the head coach was 20-16.

“Shocked would be an understatement,” Saturday said when asked about his reaction to owner Jim Irsay’s call.

Saturday was just like the rest of us. Nobody saw this coming Monday morning after Reich was let go. An unprecedented move made by a franchise that looks to be spiraling more and more each week.

Why bring in someone who has not been with the team all season, let alone someone without any high-level coaching experience, to be the head coach to try and save the season?

“(Saturday’s) the best man for the job,” Irsay said defiantly. “There’s no question about it in my mind. I’ve been around it a long time. The last coach I hired as an interim head coach was Bruce Arians. It was the right coach. He was the best guy. That’s why.”

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Anyone who has watched press conferences by Irsay knows that the man can be long-winded and go on a tangent or two. But last night seemed different. The Colts owner went off on multiple tirades in an attempt to make his point that Saturday was the right man for the job.

“I don’t know how to make sausage. I don’t know what goes into sausage,” Irsay quipped. “But I do know how to build a football team because I have been around for 52 years and from all the people from Paul Brown to Don Shula to sitting with Ted Marchibroda and understanding what you do during a week of preparation. I understand that and I understand that he’s fully capable of doing this and more than capable.”

The Colts had multiple options to choose from as an interim head coach on their current staff. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley and senior defensive assistant John Fox both have multiple years of head coaching experience in the NFL. Special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone is a name many consider to be a rising star in the coaching ranks with head coaching potential.

But Irsay sees the inexperience of Saturday as a positive, noting that he may not be afraid like some other coaches could be.

“I am glad (Saturday) doesn’t have any NFL experience,” Irsay admitted. “I’m glad he hasn’t learned the fear that’s in this league because it’s tough for all of our coaches. They’re afraid. They go to analytics and it gets difficult. I mean, he doesn’t have all that. He doesn’t have that fear and there was no other candidate. We were fortunate that he was available.”

The other person responsible for this is general manager Chris Ballard, who assisted Irsay in the decision to fire Reich and bring in Saturday. One of the main reasons the Colts are in this spot in the first place is because of Ballard’s roster-building strategy.

Ballard and the Colts have failed to take the risk and go all in on a young quarterback prospect in the draft to build around. Instead, they have continued to use the band-aid approach, trading for retread quarterbacks and kicking the can down the line. The Colts now have no quarterback, with Matt Ryan on the bench and Sam Ehlinger trying to find his way.

The Colts’ offensive line has regressed to one of, if not the, worst in the league. Ballard decided to go with Matt Pryor at left tackle and Danny Pinter at right guard, both playing out of their natural positions. The results have been abysmal, and the Colts are still scrambling for answers at both spots. On top of that, the offensive line is making a whopping $42.2 million this season and yet has given up 35 sacks, both most in the league.

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

“I think you know me well enough, all of you. I don’t sit here and act like I don’t share some of the blame. Damn right I do,” Ballard explained. “But also know that we’ve got eight games left and I’m not just ready to fire the towel in like everybody else. The world is going to fire the towel in on us. We’re not throwing in the towel.

“Defensively, I would tell you we’re playing pretty good football,” Ballard continued. “Offensively, is where we have to make some hay. We have not played as well up front as we need to play. I think you all know, as you’ve all been kicking the s--- out of me for years for not drafting wideouts and all of a sudden I look up and we’re underperforming on the offensive line right now. That’s got to improve.”

But will it improve? The Colts have practically thrown the kitchen sink at the offensive line, and things seem to be getting worse. Maybe Saturday will be able to get things turned around with the unit, but they have a long way to go.

Irsay emphatically backed his general manager Monday night and said he expects him to be here when the Colts go through an official hiring process for the next head coach after the season.

“Honestly, it’s not really even in the consciousness of my mind about that sort of thing,” Irsay said when asked about Ballard’s job status. “Look it, Chris was highly sought after when he came here. It was a great indication this organization – that he wanted to come here. He could’ve gone anywhere he wanted. He’s been executive of the year before. You guys can try to diminish him all you want, but that’s just your words. They have no substance to it because there is no truth in it. I mean, the guy is a winner and he’s been immensely successful.”

Shots by Irsay and Ballard at the media aside, the problems remain for this Colts franchise. They do not have a quarterback. They do not have an offensive line. And the man in charge of trying to right the ship over the next eight games has never coached an NFL game before.

© Jenna Watson/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

The only one that came out of this press conference looking for the better was Saturday. Hearing him speak, you see the leadership and the passion he brings. Saturday does not expect things to be given to him, and he knows he has a long way to go to earn everyone’s respect. But he is up for the challenge.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Saturday explained. “I hope (the fans) are. I hope they know how much I care about this organization, about this community as a whole. My adult life was built here. I don’t diminish this opportunity, even the slightest. Even if it is for eight games and everybody wants to run me out of town. I believe that I’m called for a reason and I would not have accepted it without that. I’m excited about the opportunity, I’m excited about working with those men in the locker room, the coaches here and building something special.

He continued, “It’s hard work. There’s nothing easy about it. It’s hard to win a game in this league. I don’t come in with these preconceived ideas of who I’m going to be. I’m going to be who I’ve always been. I’m going to hold people accountable, I’m not going to demean people. You all know me, been around me for 20 years. I am who I am. I don’t change. I’m probably more spirited than most, my voice, you’ll definitely be able to hear me, but I’ll hold people accountable. When I was a player, I held people accountable and I’m going to be your toughest critic, but I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader. I’ve always done that, I’ve always believed in that and that’s the way I wanted to be coached and that’s how I’ll continue to coach.”

It's hard not to root for Saturday. He is a great man and will give his all to this job. Will he be a successful coach? Time will tell.

But it is those at the top that continue to fail in giving the fans confidence that the organization is heading in the right direction. Irsay is becoming more and more involved and seemingly making impulsive decisions over the past month. Ballard was defensive, portraying more of a victim-like attitude than truly owning up to the mess this team is in.

Ultimately, the direction this franchise goes will depend on the decisions Irsay and Ballard make moving forward. Does Irsay continue to make moves if things do not change quickly? Will Ballard even be with the organization to make those decisions after the season?

Whatever happens, the Colts currently find themselves at a franchise-altering crossroads. How things shake out over the next few months will drastically shape the future of the organization for years to come. They could be at rock bottom, or the epic collapse may have only just begun.

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