CLEVELAND, Ohio– Browns legend Joe Thomas had some strong reaction news this week that the Indianapolis Colts have hired former center Jeff Saturday, who lacks NFL coaching experience, to take over as interim head coach from fired Frank Reich.
“When I saw that, I thought it was a joke,” Thomas, an 11-year-old tackle for the Browns, said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” show Friday morning.
“It was the most egregious thing I can remember in the NFL, and I went 1-31 in my last two years in the NFL.”
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Thomas appeared on “Good Morning Football” Friday morning from Germany, where Tampa Bay and Seattle will play on Sunday.
Saturday, a Colts Ring of Honor inductee, spent 13 seasons as the team’s starting center.
Thomas disagreed with owner Jim Irsay’s decision to hire Saturday to lead a team made up of several coaches with NFL head coaching experience, including Gus Bradley and John Fox.
“You must be kidding me that this is something that Jim Irsay and Jeff Saturday, who are not innocent of taking the job, could have talked about and decided was the best thing for the Colts to do. ‘Indianapolis at this point in the season,’ Thomas said.
Thomas then cited former Browns coach Rob Chudzinski, who coached Thomas during the 2013 season.
“He saw his children once a week. If it was a home game, he would see his kids twice a week. It’s a lifestyle. It’s who you are. It’s not something you can just show up for. It’s not something you sign up for.
“It’s something that changes your life when you decide to be a coach. It’s one of the reasons why I don’t want to coach, because I want to see my children. I want to have a life outside of football.
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Reich was fired midway through his fifth season with the team, with a regular season record of 40-33-1, plus a 1-2 playoff record.
Prior to Indianapolis, Saturday’s only coaching experience came in three seasons at Hebron Christian Academy in Dacula, Ga., where he had a 20-16 record and three playoff wins.
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