{"id":1752034,"date":"2022-11-26T06:30:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T11:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1752034"},"modified":"2022-11-26T10:04:06","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T15:04:06","slug":"colts-owner-claims-frank-reich-firing-wasnt-personal-defends-decision-to-hire-jeff-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/colts-owner-claims-frank-reich-firing-wasnt-personal-defends-decision-to-hire-jeff-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Colts Owner Claims Frank Reich Firing Wasn\u2019t \u201cPersonal,\u201d Defends Decision to Hire Jeff Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcolts-owner-claims-frank-reich-firing-wasnt-personal-defends-decision-to-hire-jeff-saturday%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1752034&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"speakable\">Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay fired head coach Frank Reich after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/indianapolis-colts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Colts fell to 3-5-1<\/u><\/a> on the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable\">Irsay\u2019s next decision, hiring former Colts&#8217; player Jeff Saturday as interim head coach, sparked a wide debate as Saturday has no coaching experience beyond the high-school level.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/640\/320\/Frank-Reich.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich stands on the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass.\u00a0\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n      Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich stands on the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Foxborough, Mass.\u00a0<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(AP Photo\/Charles Krupa)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Irsay defended his decision to fire Frank, telling ESPN that the decision was not personal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/eagles-nick-sirianni-message-fans-victory-colts-revealed-this-is-frank-reich\"><strong><u>EAGLES\u2019 NICK SIRIANNI MESSAGE TO FANS AFTER VICTORY OVER COLTS REVEALED: \u2018THIS S&#8212; IS FOR FRANK REICH!\u2019<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not personal. It&#8217;s the very opposite from being personal,&#8221; Irsay said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Frank is a treasured friend of my family and all my daughters,&#8221; Irsay said. &#8220;We go back a long, long way. I&#8217;m very, very close to Frank, and I&#8217;ve known Frank for many decades. He&#8217;s like family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The firing of Reich appeared to irk <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/eagles-nick-sirianni-sounds-off-colts-frank-reich-firing-you-dont-want-know-what-i-think\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni<\/u><\/a>, who served as offensive coordinator under Reich for three seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Following the Eagles&#8217; win over the Colts in Week 11, an emotional Sirianni was seen on video yelling toward fans in the stands.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This s&#8212; is for Frank Reich,&#8221; he shouted, fired up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/640\/320\/GettyImages-1183235773.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni on the sidelines during the NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts on November 17, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, IN.\u00a0\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n      Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich and Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni on the sidelines during the NFL game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts on November 17, 2019, at Lucas Oil Stadium, in Indianapolis, IN.\u00a0<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(Zach Bolinger\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Following the game, Sirianni was asked why he was so emotional, explaining that he had hoped to coach against Reich in the game against the Colts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Because I love Frank Reich,&#8221; Sirianni said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I really do, and he\u2019s one of the best damn football coaches I\u2019ve ever been around. I was hoping that him and I would be able to coach against each other in this game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Irsay told ESPN he signed Reich to a contract extension earlier this year, thus showing his commitment to Reich.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been doing this for over 50 years, and I&#8217;ve never, ever, ever, ever given a coach an extension when there&#8217;s two years left on the contract,&#8221; Irsay said. &#8220;But [I did it] because of the closeness with him and our family, and because I hoped that maybe it would be something that would help strengthen him in his position and his own belief.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 767px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" \/><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/640\/320\/Jeff-Saturday4.jpg?ve=1&#038;tl=1\" alt=\"Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday on the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Nev., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.\u00a0\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p>\n      Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday on the sideline in the second half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders in Las Vegas, Nev., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022.\u00a0<br \/>\n      <span class=\"copyright\">(AP Photo\/David Becker)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Irsay also pushed back on the criticism he\u2019s received for hiring Saturday, saying that the circumstances were &#8220;unusual.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You have to understand that Jeff&#8217;s a very unusual person that was in a very unusual position to have the type of qualities that would make him able to make a transition like this,&#8221; Irsay said. &#8220;Most of the time, it is gonna be pretty hard. Could I make a hire like this again? Probably not. I mean, if I was lucky enough to live long enough to do this for 75 years, it&#8217;s probably once in 75 years. I mean, it was a rare thing because the circumstances presented themselves that way.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Colts are 1-1 since Reich\u2019s firing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">face the Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Joe Morgan is a Sports Reporter for Fox News.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay fired head coach Frank Reich after the Colts fell to 3-5-1 on the season.\u00a0Irsay\u2019s next decision, hiring former Colts&#8217; player Jeff Saturday as interim head<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1752037,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1752034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1752034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1752034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1752037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1752034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1752034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1752034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}