No More Avoiding It; The Saints Are No Longer Able To Hide In Mediocrity

The New Orleans Saints are in the midst of filling the league’s only unoccupied head coaching position, something that would appear to be an advantage to most organizations; however in the Saints’ case, it is quite the opposite.

Instead, while the rest of the league is watching, the franchise has been exposed as being the most undesirable destination in the league.

In the post-Payton-Brees era, the Saints have been able to remain in league average territory – not making the playoffs, but ‘in the hunt’ until the final week or two. This has compelled the team’s general manager of over two decades, Mickey Loomis, to rationalize the facade that the team is on the brink of the return to relevance.

Fans will remember his infamous, gum-chewing, press conference from a year ago, where he compared Dennis Allen to all time head coaches like Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Bill Belichick. His arrogance and bravado were on display directly to the press, and the ensuing 12 months have been met with heavy criticism and the franchise’s worst season in 20 years.

Another year riddled with injuries, close losses and mediocrity was all Loomis needed to justify keeping around Allen for another year, another chance with the knowledge that his job was completely secure regardless of the results.

However, the franchise’s owner, Gayle Benson, made a rare team-related move, and let go of the third-year coach after their week nine loss in Charlotte back in early November: A decision she made without the consulting of Loomis.

It is unclear whether that use of authority put real pressure on the 69-year-old general manager, but his end-of-year presser from two weeks ago certainly suggests he is far less bullish on the current state of the team than in the past few offseasons.

Regardless of there being real pressure on Loomis or not, the team’s search for their next head coach is a direct display of how the rest of the league views the Saints’ current position especially with Loomis running the show.

The team could not get a meeting with the top two candidates available, Ben Johnson and Mike Vrabel, and have been turned down by multiple former franchise members, Bills’ offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, along with new New York Jets head coach, Aaron Glenn.

In the case of Brady and Glenn, their lack of interest in a franchise they have familiarity in from not long ago is indicative of the situation they are in.

Add in one of the main contributors of their search committee, Dave Ziegler, departing for a similar position in Tennessee with the Titans and the reality really starts to set in.

Being “one of 32 jobs” is not good enough to pique the interest of the top candidates.

Unmatched salary cap and dead money issues, a major portion of the cap being allocated to players above 30 years old, and a quarterback situation with very little direction – there is clearly and understandably not much interest from coaches wanting to stake their careers on this franchise.

This downfall is multiple years in the making, the Saints “cap-wizardry” and neglect for the future has come back to bite them and a multiple-year, likely painful, slow rebuild is what looms – but will Loomis finally go that route?

It all starts with finding the coach, and it seems the Saints are zeroed in on one of four coordinators still game planning for another 60 minutes of football this season.

Eagles offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, has been the center of the Saints search for more than a week now. All signs point to this being the final resolution to one of the messiest search process in some time around the league.

Moore by no means is a bad candidate, his value as a play-caller alone warrants a breath of excitement in an offseason lacking any sense of optimism so far. This does not help the optics that exist as a result of this process. Optics and spin zone seem to be all Mickey Loomis has been interested these days, and it is likely that he will attempt to gaslight fans into thinking Moore was the focus of their search the entire time.

In reality, Loomis constantly neglecting to invest in a future at the quarterback position, complacency with the mediocre product the team has turned out since Drew Brees’s retirement and Sean Payton’s departure and no clear direction that inspires optimism for the future, he should have very little job security at this point.

This has existed for the past few years; however, hiding behind 9-8 records and injury excuses has allowed leeway for fans to see the picture.

The way it has continued to shape out and the results that have followed is a direct indication of a situation clamoring for change. Yet, again, the franchise’s longtime GM will attempt to spin it any other way possible, no matter how outlandish it may sound.

Beyond the hiring of Kellen Moore, it is anyone’s guess to what may happen next. The Saints could justify emphasizing any position as a need in this year’s draft, will (again) need to restructure a large percentage of their roster to become cap compliant, and, even then, will likely not be a player in free agency.

Trading any asset with existing value and lowering the average age of the 2025-26 roster should be the two main points of emphasis this offseason.

The one real move that is clearly needed in order to enact true physical change in direction is the post-June 1 release of their soon-to-be 34-year-old quarterback, Derek Carr. According to overthecap.com, this will save the Saints $30-million on this year’s salary cap while only being penalized with about $21-and-a-half million in dead money. A small price to pay given recent examples like Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and, most recently, Russell Wilson resulting in immediate success following their releases for franchises despite taking in historical dead-cap numbers.

Prior to any solutions to the franchise, finally, starting to move forward, the truth is clear. Mickey Loomis has completely failed as the primary decision maker of the post Payton-Brees era, and should, at the very least, be on the scorching-hot seat and pressured to start this rebuild.

Yet again, however, ‘continuity’ and ‘family’ trump success in both of New Orleans’ professional sports franchises. Loomis will likely still have free reign to take this team in any direction he pleases until he decides to retire.

Until then, the pattern of mediocrity during the season and spin zone in the offseason will continue, and the closest the franchise will get to contending for a Super Bowl will be the rest of this week hosting the Eagles in their facility on Airline Drive.