Frank Reich’s former personal assistant has gone from typing the game script to calling the plays under Indianapolis Colts interim head coach Jeff Saturday.
A headline during a whirlwind week in Indianapolis, the Colts bypassed former Saturday teammate and current assistant coach Reggie Wayne to promote Parks Frazier to the prominent role on Monday. The move came hours after Reich was fired by owner Jim Irsay.
Frazier was the team’s passing game specialist and assistant quarterbacks coach under Reich, who hired him from the college ranks to be a personal assistant in 2018.
Saturday said Frazier’s role will not be a short-term tryout. The plan as of Wednesday is for Frazier to call offensive plays the rest of the 2022 season.
“We’re all going to be involved in helping Parks call the right plays,” Saturday said.
Saturday, last week an ESPN NFL analyst and Colts advisor, takes over the 3-5-1 Colts with only days to prepare for the Las Vegas Raiders (2-6).
Irsay came to Saturday with the idea of moving on from Reich but retained general manager Chris Ballard. Ballard hired Reich to be head coach after then-Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who’ll be on the other sideline Sunday with the Raiders, did a U-turn after already accepting the position in 2018.
Saturday said he took the job because he couldn’t take losing. He met with players for the first time Wednesday.
“Because I care. This (losing) sucks. I care about the players,” Saturday said Wednesday. “The staff, they sacrifice. These are my people. These people matter to me.”
Frazier was a college quarterback at Northeast Mississippi Junior College and Murray State.
–Field Level Media