On any given Saturday....

It appears the republic will survive Jeff Saturday.

The interim coach of the Indianapolis Colts will vacate the office after three more games. He’ll be known as the guy who sparked outrage throughout the NFL coaching kiosks and beyond when he took the job before he’d blown his first whistle. Then he supervised the Colts’ 33-0 halftime lead at Minnesota Saturday and the horror that ensued.

The Colts managed four punts, a fumble and a blown fourth down in their second-half possessions. The Vikings, playing for the NFC North title in Kevin O’Connell’s first coaching year, still trailed 36-7 late in the third quarter, but Kirk Cousins went 21 for 33 for 330 yards in the second half alone, then was 7 for 9 in overtime, and Minnesota scored five touchdowns after halftime.

That included a simple pass to Dalvin Cook, who proceeded to run through a host of white-shirted pylons on the way to a 64-yard tying touchdown. Once the noise faded you could almost hear Mike Curtis rolling in his grave.

Minnesota won 39-36 and completed the biggest comeback in NFL history. They surpassed Buffalo’s 32-point comeback against the Houston Oilers, leading to a 41-38 overtime win in the AFC playoffs of 1993, by one point. Reich, of course, was fired by Colts’ owner Jim Irsay to make room for Saturday, Peyton Manning’s center in the glory days and a free-wheeling ESPN opinionator.

But Saturday never had coached beyond high school, and the backlash was fierce. Joe Thomas, the former Cleveland tackle who now works for the NFL Network, accused Iray of hiring his “drinking buddy” and said it was the “most egregious” thing he’d ever seen in the league — “and I went 1-31 my last two years.”

Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher, on CBS, said it was the most “disrespectful” thing he’d ever seen in the NFL. And when you think of the multitudes of underpaid, over-stressed coaches held hostage in film rooms, you can empathize. You also can understand the restlessness of the numerous coaches of color who get courtesy interviews and hearty handshakes, but no laurel.

Jeff Saturday’s debut was a win at Las Vegas, followed by four losses, including a 59-24 eyesore at Dallas, and then this venture into the record books. At the very least, Saturday should have been able to sort out the Colts’ offensive line follies, but Matt Ryan was still a bug on the windshield in the second half at Minnesota.

But all the tumult missed the point. The Colts never pretended their new coach was anything but a band-aid, and it would have taken something involving loaves and fishes to create enough wins to give him the permanent job.

This created another conversation. Should there be a minimum incubation period for a head coach?

It seems easier to jump the line in other sports. Dusty Baker never had managed until he took over the Giants, after five years on the coaching staff. Jim Fregosi went from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ roster to the manager’s office with the California Angels, and won the American League West two years later.

Billy Cunningham never had coached until the 76ers promoted him into Gene Shue’s chair. He won the NBA title five years later. Pat Riley was Chick Hearn’s radio analyst with the Lakers when he and Jerry West were named co-coaches, an uncomfortable episode that West ended when he insisted Riley should coach. Riley then took the Lakers to five NBA championships.

But the perception is that football outcomes are more dependent on coaching. Everyone wants the Svengali play-caller, even if such a figure is imaginary. Amazing how Mike Shanahan struggled after John Elway left him, for instance.

In truth, some NFL teams might profit from an overseer coach, a CEO-type, considering how many assistant coaches and players there are to oversee. Remember Jim Lee Howell? Didn’t think so. Howell won 66 percent of his games with the Giants in seven years, including a championship and two runners-up. But he willingly cited the work of his coordinators: Vince Lombardi on offense and Tom Landry on defense. “I just blow up the footballs and keep order,” Howell said. As long as you can spot talent, especially coaching talent, and create a kindered spirit in the locker room, the rest is just technical.

The world is full of longtime assistant NFL coaches who failed (Rich Kotite, Steve Spagnuolo, Joe Philbin, Rod Marinelli) and others who succeeded (Cowher, Jon Gruden, Bill Walsh, Mike Holmgren, Andy Reid, Bill Parcells, Chuck Knox, Don Shula) and some who did a little bit of both (Sam Wyche, Jeff Fisher, Bobby Ross, George Seifert, John Fox).

More recently, Deion Sanders came to Jackson State without the slightest real coaching experience beyond the pop-up high school level, but with a son, Shedeur, who could play quarterback. He left with a 29-6 record and took the Colorado job, Shedeur in tow. He has a five-year contract but he and all his brethren are really interim coaches. Few of them will die in office in the tragic way that Mike Leach did.

Basically, there are three requirements: a plan, a resume and a team. Jeff Saturday had none of the above, but the truth is that (A) and (B) don’t mean much without (C).