Jim Irsay responds to criticism of Rooney’s rule for hiring Jeff on Saturday

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August 7, 2021; Canton, Ohio, USA; Pro Football Hall of Fame centennial class member Edgerrin James (right) poses with presenter Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay faced widespread criticism after firing Frank Reich and appointing Jeff Saturday as the team’s interim head coach. One of the blows against him was that he chose an inexperienced coach without interviewing any minority candidates. Irsay says it all fell into place so quickly there was no time for it.

Irsay sat down for an interview with ESPN’s Michelle Beisner-Buck that aired on the “Monday Night Football” pregame show. He described the Saturday hiring process after Indy’s Week 9 loss as “very unusual.” When asked if the Colts would have changed coaches had Saturday turned down the job, Irsay said “definitely not that week.”

This led to a question about the Rooney Rule, which does not apply to interim coaches. Irsay said the Colts would comply after the season.

“It was something where we were in line with the Rooney rule and we were under a lot of pressure, believe me,” Irsay said. “It wasn’t until almost 1:30 in the morning that it was clear that Jeff was going to be our head coach. There’s no time to go through the longer Rooney rule process, but (he) is an interim coach. At the end of the year, that’s when the process moves forward.

There’s a reason the Rooney rule doesn’t apply to interim head coaches. Teams don’t usually interview substitutes thoroughly when they fire a coach midway through the season. In this case, some critics felt that Irsay should have given an experienced minority contestant a chance to audition for the gig rather than hiring on Saturday.

The Colts won their first game after appointing the interim head coach on Saturday. They have lost five games in a row since. Irsay was accused of hiring an inexperienced trainer for the purpose of tanking, and he responded very strongly to those allegations. Whether that was his intention or not, the results were pretty much what most people expected.

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