Upon making the surprise hire of Jeff Saturday as his interim coach, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay noted the move was for the final eight games of the season and "hopefully more."
After a surprise win in his first game in Las Vegas, Saturday's club has stumbled to three consecutive losses, including a 54-19 beatdown in Dallas before the team's bye. Despite the struggles, Saturday is still hopeful of retaining the gig long-term.
"I'm not wavering, man," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I've loved it. I've had a great time."
The Colts plan to conduct a thorough coaching search after the season, and the former broadcaster is looking for a shot to remain in the big chair.
"I plan on interviewing," Saturday said. "As long as they give me the interview, I'm in. I enjoy the heck out of this and have had a lot of fun doing it. Again, I'm not discouraged at all. I have a vision of what this could look like in the future and plan to work that way. That's what I do every day -- work towards that goal, understanding what that looks like."
After a whirlwind month following his stunning hire from ESPN's broadcast studio, Saturday has had the bye week to prepare his 4-8-1 Colts for the 10-3 Minnesota Vikings on Saturday (airing on NFL Network). How his team performs down the stretch will impact the coaching future in Indy.
"I'm disappointed but definitely not discouraged," he said of the three-game losing streak. "When I look at this football team and this staff, I think we're making progress in areas. I think we're getting better in areas. So from my viewpoint, I have to look at it and keep it in perspective of what it looks like. I didn't think I would come in and win every game. I would love to say that, but that's probably not realistic when you looked at this thing. We're going to continue to battle."
Saturday needs only convince one man that he's capable of being more than an eight-game stand-in: Irsay. Given the owner's glowing remarks during the introductory press conference, Saturday entered with a leg up. Recent stumbles have taken the shine off the novelty. For the former offensive lineman to keep the gig, his club must show some semblance of promise in the final four weeks.