Could the Colts to be forced to fire Jeff Saturday?
Jeff Saturday was appointed the interim head coach for the Indianapolis Colts under controversial circumstances.
He was given the job after the organization fired Frank Reich after a poor start to the season. The Colts were predicted to make a deep playoff run, but a string of poor results sees them with a 4-5-1 record (one win from Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders).
But now, after being in the job for a little over a week, the Colts could potentially be forced to part ways with Saturday. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported today that the FPA has initiated an inquiry into the hiring process of Saturday.
Rapoport tweeted a section of the statement from the Fritz Pollard Alliance:
“In light of the recent interim head coaching hire in Indianapolis, the FPA has initiated an inquiry with the NFL into whether this hiring process conformed with NFL Hiring Guidelines for naming an interim Head Coach.”
A statement from the Fritz Pollard Alliance on the #Colts:
“In light of the recent interim head coaching hire in Indianapolis, the FPA has initiated an inquiry with the NFL into whether this hiring process conformed with NFL Hiring Guidelines for naming an interim Head Coach.”
The hiring of Saturday took many by surprise. Especially due to the fact that the former offensive lineman had zero experience as a head coach in the NFL, whereas several assistants and other coaches on the Colts payroll had multiple years.
What is the Fritz Pollard Alliance?
Per their website, the Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization made up of front office personnel, scouts, and coaches within the NFL and other sports. The entire organization is committed to allowing equal opportunity within the industry.
On top of that, the organization is dedicated to helping people understand about equal opportunity in sports. They also provide sports industry professionals of color with scholarships as well.
Bill Cowher on the #Colts hiring of Jeff Saturday: "It's a disgrace to the coaching profession." - via CBS
https://t.co/0BEy7DfLvg
This goes back to what we mentioned above as Saturday was hired with no previous NFL coaching experience, whereas several assistants and other coaches have multiple years.
Potential punishment for Colts if found guilty of not following hiring guidelines
If Indianapolis is found guilty of not abiding by the NFL hiring guidelines (The Rooney Rule) where per acslaw.org that a team must interview a minority candidate before hiring a coach, then they will be subject to penalties at Roger Goodell's descresion.
Per operations.nfl.com, the Rooney Rule states:
"Clubs must interview at least two diverse candidates from the Career Development Advisory Panel list, or a diverse candidate not currently employed by the club. Clubs must conduct an in-person interview with at least one external minority candidate for any GM or head coaching interview."
At the time of writing, it is not known if the Indianapolis Colts followed this or not. But the Fritz Pollard Alliance will make sure they find out if they did.