This guy is faker than a letter in the mail claiming you’re the heir to a wealthy Arabian Prince. Joe Thomas went no holds barred on Jeff Saturday and the Colts, claiming that his hiring was ‘egregious’…though the only thing egregious is Thomas himself!
Did anyone see Joe Thomas go off on Good Morning Football about Jeff Saturday, the Colts, and Jim Irsay? No, because GMF has regressed into a boring, cringy, clown-show ever since Kay Adams and Nate Burlesson left. Yeah, I agree.
Still, I’ll make one concession before I go in on this clown: the hiring of Jeff Saturday is out of the blue. The former center and Super Bowl champion with the Indianapolis Colts was an ESPN analyst and high school head coach prior to this newest role, so I understand where the confusion comes from.
I mean, I won’t lie and say that I saw it coming either as I most certainly didn’t.
Though, when you have a guy like Jim Irsay as an owner, you really should expect anything.
Nevertheless, that’s the only point I’m willing to give to Thomas. Everything else he said was beyond brainless.
I can’t believe that a former offensive lineman is trashing and belittling another former offensive lineman (as both Saturday and Thomas are) in such a disgusting, condescending, and ruthless way.
By calling Saturday a “drinking buddy” with Jim Irsay and he’s “not blameless” for accepting the role is not only diminishing Saturday’s incredible achievements as a player in the game of football, but also damages the reputations of all ex-professionals who hope to become coaches one day too.
First off, who is Joe Thomas to demean Jeff Saturday?
Thomas, a ‘hall of fame lineman’ that had one winning season in the NFL (his rookie year in 2007 at 10-6), never made it to the playoffs, played during THE WORST ERA of the Cleveland Browns franchise for eleven years, blocked for a revolving door of failed quarterbacks, never spoke out against the Browns mismanagement despite his elite status, had a 0-16 season (2017) and went 1-31 (as he mentioned in his rant) in his final two years in the NFL, has the right to mock Saturday?
Saturday, on the other hand, spent 13 years with the Indianapolis Colts, had 11 winning seasons, made it to three All-Pro teams (2 First Team, 1 2nd Team) and six Pro Bowls, played center for one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history (Peyton Manning) for 12 years, made it to two Super Bowls (2006 and 2009), won Super Bowl XLI over the Chicago Bears, and then finished his career in Green Bay blocking for another G.O.A.T quarterback (Aaron Rodgers).
Now, I’m not here saying that Jeff Saturday was a more skilled or talented offensive lineman than Joe Thomas (the stats and awards speak for themselves), but I will say that Thomas is, in my humble opinion, extremely overrated.
Sure, he set the NFL ironman streak for 10,363 consecutive snaps played, allowed only 30 sacks on said number of snaps (0.003% sack rate/snap), made ten consecutive Pro Bowls and eight All-Pro teams (which is impressive and commendable), but what did he win for Cleveland?
He may have blocked expertly for eleven seasons, but his offensive lineman brothers gave up hundreds of sacks during his time.
Of course, that’s not his fault, but he also never spoke out against such incompetency. There’s not much he could have done from his offensive lineman position on the field, but his status as one of the best tackles in NFL history (stats wise, that is) could have influenced some huge changes in the Browns organization if he spoke out during those miserable years.
I’m not saying he perpetuated the failure of the Browns organization, but he definitely didn’t seem to mind it too much as he racked in numerous individual accolades. Oh, and isn’t it funny how the Browns suddenly got their act together and made the playoffs for the first time in 20 years almost immediately AFTER Thomas retired? They literally went from 0-17 to 7-8-1 in the first year without Thomas.
By the way, you never saw a Jeff Saturday team go 0-16.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, I don’t understand why this has caused such an uproar with former players in the media world. Do they really believe the nonsense that comes out of their mouths or are they being told to say such things? You know, given how Thomas is currently employed by the NFL as he works for the NFL Network, it wouldn’t surprise me if the NFL is covertly condemning the hire through its network mouthpiece.
Jim Irsay was always a huge critic of Daniel Snyder, the infamous owner of the Washinton Commanders that NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell has allegedly been conspiring with (not my words but the words of the Attorney General’s office of DC), so it would make sense they would thwart him in any way possible.
Plus, it’s not like the NFL (allegedly) hasn’t used some form of coercion to get their way in the past. Hint…Jon Gruden emails…hint.
But, as far as I’m aware, this hiring actually helps players (and definitely players of color) transition from their playing days into coaching immediately.
Most players, regardless of their hall-of-fame status and expert opinions of the game, are forced to go through the grueling, demeaning cycle that underling coaches, who were not good enough to make it into the NFL during their athletic years, are forced to endure just to secure an assistant coordinator spot.
Do you think former players like Deion Sanders, who was only an offensive coordinator for his son’s high school team prior to getting the much maligned (before he got there) Jackson State job, would have been looked at for this job if he was still avaiable? I don’t think so, which is a great shame as he’s an outstanding coach that has transformed Jackson State from ‘just being’ (as if it was a bad thing) a HBCU to a college football powerhouse.
Honestly, I’m so glad that Deion was given the Jackson State role as many NFL executives would have instantly bypassed him because he was ‘just a former player’ without ‘coaching experience’…just like Jeff Saturday.
Yes, it would have been nice to see former player assistants on the Colts staff, such as Reggie Wayne, get the role, but Jim Irsay already expressed a disinterest in hiring from Frank Reich’s staff. And it’s tough to change the mind of a man like Irsay when it has already been set.
Plus, Saturday has been a consultant with the Colts organization for years. It’s not like he has absolutely zero experience in personnel decision.
Regardless, I got off on a little bit of a tangent there as it is really frustrating to see former players get laughed at and ridiculed for being in contention for a coaching role. I find it so strange to see such vitriol and condemnation from large portions of the media world over this hire as Saturday, who was a former analyst and player, should, in theory, be applauded for getting the gig.
In my humble opinion, he’s helping pave down the barrier built by the NFL executives refusing to entrust former players (of all ethnic backgrounds) in positions of authority as soon as they retire, even though they have put together great careers and multiple Super Bowl wins for said organizations.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I find this hiring great for the ex-players world. I hope Saturday proves these media fools wrong and gets the Colts season back on track.
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