Colts owner Jim Irsay was fired up while watching Indianapolis’ Week 9 game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium and needed to share his frustrations with someone.
That someone proved to be then-NFL analyst Jeff Saturday, who was named the organization’s interim head coach a few days later.
“Saturday, who was a Colts consultant as well as ESPN analyst at the time, received two calls from team owner Jim Irsay that day (Nov. 6),” ESPN’s Stephen Holder wrote, referencing the Week 9 contest in an extensive feature story published Tuesday. “One was during the middle of the game asking why the offensive line was struggling so badly, and the other was later that night to broach the idea of Saturday becoming the interim coach.