When the Colts made the shocking decision to name Jeff Saturday their interim head coach, one of the first questions was who Saturday would make the offensive play caller. As it turns out, Saturday’s first choice turned the job down.
Colts quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich said today that Saturday offered him the play calling role but Milanovich declined. That led to Parks Frazier, a relatively inexperienced coach who previously had the title of pass game specialist/assistant quarterbacks coach, getting the job.
“Yeah, Jeff and I spoke about it,” Milanovich said, via the Indianapolis Star. “We talked about it, I talked with my family. Ultimately, it just wasn’t the right situation for me at the time, and for the team.”
Milanovich didn’t go into any details about why it wasn’t the right situation, but there has been talk that Milanovich wanted a pay raise if he was going to get added responsibilities, and that the Colts wanted him to take on more work without getting more pay. It also wouldn’t be surprising if Milanovich feared that the Colts’ season was heading downhill fast and didn’t want to be blamed if the Colts’ offense sputtered. Given that the Colts had just fired both head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady, it would have been valid for Milanovich to feel that way.
Although Milanovich had a higher-ranking title on the Colts’ coaching staff than Frazier, Milanovich noted that Frazier has worked with Reich for longer, which means Frazier has more experience within the Colts’ offensive system.
“Parks has been in this offense . . . at least twice as long as I have,” Milanovich said. “He’s ready for this. We’re all supporting him. I think he proved that on Sunday.”
Milanovich said Saturday has done an excellent job in his first week as interim head coach, and Milanovich is optimistic about where the team is going. Even if Milanovich didn’t want a bigger role on the team.