A Saturday Sunday

Today is Jeff Saturday's first Sunday as an NFL head coach, or as any sort of NFL coach, or as any sort of coach, period, outside of a high school team in Georgia. 

But he was a hell of an analyst for ESPN, and everyone likes him, and he's really fired up and enthusiastic. So LET'S GO. Get them Raiders, boys!

Sorry. It's hard to keep Mr. Snarky in his box about this whole deal, which is bizarre beyond words even for Jim Irsay, and that's saying something. People already thought he was out there, but now they think he's, like, standing-on-Pluto out there. Because who fires his head coach and then brings in a TV guy with zero experience to coach the last eight games of the season?

"But look!" one imagines Irsay saying. "He's in our Ring of Honor and everything!"

Well, yes, he is, which means Irsay's going with a guy he knows and trusts, and if it's also an admission the season is lost, who cares? Irsay says the latter is assuredly not true, but of course  he's going to say that. Not even Irsay would be that bizarre.

Media: Jim, you benched your high-priced veteran quarterback for a kid who'd never taken a real NFL snap, fired your offensive coordinator and head coach, and now your interim head coach is a favorite son who's never coached anything but high school ball. Is this an admission the season is lost?

Irsay: What do you think, genius?

Uh ... no. Not gonna happen.

But on to today, when the Colts wander our to Vegas and Jeff Saturday does whatever he's going to do. Which is hard to say. I mean, he's just minding the store until the end of the season, so it's not like it really matters.

As things stand now, he's turned the offensive coordinator duties over to a 30-year-old named Parks Frazier, whose previous job was assistant quarterbacks coach. Sam Ehlinger will start at quarterback,* but apparently Matt Ryan and Nick Foles are back in play again three weeks after it was announced the job was Ehlinger's for the rest of the season. 

That means if he falters today ... well, who knows what that means. Maybe Ryan will replace him, at least until he gets sacked another eleventy-hundred times. Maybe Foles will get a shot. Maybe Jeff Saturday will insert himself into the game at center.

All we really know is the Colts still have a shot at the W today, because it's the Raiders and their head coach, Josh McDaniel, is busily Josh McDaniel-ing it up again in Vegas. A flop as a head coach in Denver, he's now got the Raiders, considered a coming power in the AFC, sitting at 2-6. 

So, yeah, maybe there's hope today. Or maybe not. Maybe next week Irsay fires GM Chris Ballard and brings in Peyton Manning to replace him (which could happen!). Maybe he fires himself as owner. 

In which case, ownership will pass to the late Johnny Unitas as payback for the way Irsay's dad screwed him over at the end of his career.

Just kidding.

Maybe.

(*Update: Sam Ehlinger did NOT start at quarterback after all, despite Saturday saying he would. Matt Ryan is back in the saddle. Stay tuned for further course changes.)