When the Colts made the shocking decision to name Jeff Saturday their interim coach, one of the first questions was who Saturday would talk about offensive play. As it turns out, Saturday’s first pick turned down the job.
Colts head coach Scott Milanovic said Saturday that Saturday offered him a call-up role but Milanovic declined. This led Parks-Frazier, a relatively inexperienced coach, titled Passing Game Specialist/Associate Quarterbacks Coach, to get the job.
“Yeah, Jeff and I talked about it,” Milanovic said via Indianapolis Star. “We talked about it, I talked to my family. Finally, It wasn’t the right situation For me at the time, and for the team.”
Milanović didn’t go into any detail as to why the situation wasn’t a good fit, but there was talk that Milanović wanted a salary increase if he was going to have additional responsibilities, and that the Colts wanted him to take on more work without getting paid more. It also wouldn’t be surprising if Milanovic feared the Colts’ season was heading downhill quickly and didn’t want to be blamed if the Colts’ offense petered out. Given that the Colts had just fired both head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Marcus Brady, Milanovic could have felt that way.
Although Milanovic had a higher-ranking title on the Colts coaching staff than Frazier, Milanovic noted that Frazier has worked with the Reichs longer, meaning Frazier has more experience in the Colts’ offensive system.
“Parks was in on this crime . . . . ” Milanovic said at least twice. “He’s up for it. We all support him. I think he proved that on Sunday.”
Milanovic said on Saturday he’s done an excellent job in his first week as interim coach, and Milanovic is optimistic about where the team is heading. Even if Milanovic didn’t want a bigger role in the team.
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