The Fritz Pollard Alliance announced that, in conjunction with the NFL, it is investigating the Colts as to whether they successfully followed the proper guidelines before naming Jeff Saturday as interim head coach.
“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,” it said in a statement.
Instead of choosing an in-house candidate, Indianapolis chose to go outside of the organization by hiring Saturday to replace Frank Reich for the rest of the season. Indianapolis employs two former head coaches in Gus Bradley and John Fox, while special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone and running backs coach Scottie Montgomery are also highly regarded throughout the league.
The Colts’ decision did not sit well with many in the NFL, as assistant coaches view potential interim jobs in high regard.
The rules for hiring an interim head coach are not the same as they are for hiring a permanent head coach, as the Rooney Rule does not apply in this case. However, Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves told NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero that the Rooney Rule should apply in that situation as well.
As of last year, the Rooney Rule requires any team with a head coach or general manager vacancy to have at least one in-person interview for at least one external minority candidate.
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