The Saints head coaching search is coming to a close sooner rather than later. The Saints have six final candidates after the hiring of Doug Pederson in Jacksonville. The six coaches they currently on their watchlist are a solid group of candidates to have.
The core six include Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, ex-Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy who is being interviewed Sunday, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Bucs offensive coordinator Bryon Leftwich, and Saints special teams coach Darren Rizzi.
All the candidates have interviewed except for Bieniemy and Leftwich. Bieniemy will have his interview Sunday and the team just got permission to interview Leftwich. If nobody else becomes a candidate all interviews should be finished by mid way through next week roughly around Tuesday or Wednesday with a decision likely being made a week or two after the final interview. So, within two to three weeks at the max a decision should be made.
The team won’t conduct a second interview with any of the candidates, all the questions they have to ask each candidate were likely asked in the first interview and all the information they needed to know they got.
Each candidate has their pros and their cons, and the Saints front office needs to evaluate each of those and determine which coach will best suit the team and lead them to a winning season. For example Brian Flores would be a good hire, but would he try to fit in his defensive scheme of zone or would the defense be left alone to Dennis Allen. Would Eric Bieniemy implement a whole new system offensively or add on to the already existing one. Elements like this are things the team needs to evaluate and make sure to make the right decision so that it lasts down the long run.
If I’m the front office conducting these interviews I’m asking myself these questions: Does this candidate solve the quarterback problem now, will it be fixed this offseason or down the road? The second one is does this coach last? Finding another head coach in a few years means the team did a bad job this time around. What does the future look like with each Candidate? These are questions that should be at the top of the Saints list. I’ll give a brief explanation and rundown of each coach and how they would likely approach the team.
Leftwich would be a solid hire, only thing through is he’s never been a head coach and having Leftwhich might affect if Jameis wants to return or not. He was the Bucs offensive coordinator in 2019, Jameis’ 30 for 30 season and if I’m Jameis I wouldn’t want to return if Leftwich becomes the coach. I’d go play for the Steelers instead. So that needs to be taken into consideration for the Saints. In terms of what the quarterback situation would look like with Leftwhich, I think he’d go all out for a trade or draft someone. I doubt he would sign a free agent, going all out for a veteran leader or finding young raw talent in the draft at quarterback.
Glenn would be a first time head coach, but he’s long overdue and would be a stud as a head coach. He knows the Saints system, he’s a smart and a well respected guy around the league. For Glenn I think essentially everything is on the table for quarterback, but retaining Winston would be the most realistic. Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers won’t waive their no trade clause to play for Aaron’s Glenn. That’s nothing against Glenn, but that’s just how it is. The main focus would be resigning Marcus Williams in the case that Glenn becomes head coach because he’s a defensive minded kind of coach. Priorities would shift. Maybe guys like Teddy Bridgewater or Jimmy G become an option when Glenn is head coach.
Rizzi is someone I don’t know much about, but getting Wilson and Rodgers would be off the table. Feels like drafting a quarterback would be the way the team approaches quarterback with Rizzi.
Flores brings a lot of attraction to Deshaun Watson. Watson wants to play for him. If Flores becomes head coach the Saints could make a huge push for Watson only if things clear up. I think Flores would go with Winston or draft a guy if he’s unable to get Watson in New Orleans because he wants to take control of the offense rather than a veteran quarterback calling the shots. That being said, getting Russell Wilson would be the only guy the Saints look into with Flores as coach and I don’t see Flores wanting a veteran quarterback. Not Aaron Rodgers simply due to personalities, they’d bump heads after a significant amount of time and things would fall apart.
Allen would be a good, solid, safe hire for the Saints. Every option would be on the table for quarterback with there being an aggressive push to retain Jameis. With Allen, the offense would solely rely upon Pete Carmichael, which isn’t a bad idea but sometimes some new ideas can help restructure a team.
Bieniemy is by far the most qualified offensive coach for the Saints. What he’s done in Kansas City is remarkable. He’d build a new offensive system built around a young talented arm. He knows what talent looks like and would target his number one guy in the draft at quarterback.
One thing I would like to touch on is the Brian Flores lawsuit. Does this affect his chances of becoming the Saints head coach? It’s definitely a factor if Brian Flores goes for a job elsewhere, but I don’t think it affects his chances with the Saints at all. Prior to meeting with the team, Flores informed Mickey Loomis and the Saints about the lawsuit, so that they could determine whether or not they wanted to go through with the process. The front office acknowledged it and went on to have the interview and a dinner the night prior to the interview. The lawsuit isn’t the problem, it’s evaluating if he’s a good fit for the team or not.
For those who wanna know my opinion on the situation here it is. I think Dennis Allen should still be candidate number one. Making Allen head coach allows Richard to become defensive coordinator and retain him, because Richard is just too good of a coach to not be a defensive coordinator, if he stays at his current role he’ll be gone very soon.
In the order of who is wanted as coach I’d want Allen, Bieniemy, Flores, Glenn, Lefwhich, Rizzi, but all of these candidates are solid guys to have as the next head coach. The only questionable one is Rizzi and even then Rizzi has had a lot of positive contributions to the Saints in recent year’s.
If you want to read about each coach’s qualifications and some background about them, click the link here, it’s a short read.
Written by Kadin Janisch
# 1 The best move is Allen.
You retain that coaching staff.
That’s a 12 win roster as is.
Unpopular opinion, the offense under Hill was just as good as it was under Winston, despite Winston having a heathy Kamara and a healthy O line during his 7 starts, and, under Hill they were improving by the week.
# 2 You let Jameis go, he couldn’t move the ball between the 20s, the entire offense is to complex for him, unless Harris was running free up the middle of the field he was inept. Kamara and that defense is why he was averaging 2 TDs a game. Compare that with the 186 passing yards a game and the fact that 9 of those TDs came in 2 games and you can see how ineffective the offense really was under Winstn.
No Rodgers
No Winston
That would put us even more in salary cap hell, and we’d have a repeat of 2014-2016.
The way to navigate the salary cap he’ll we are already in and maintain being a contender is this way.
# 3 Taysom is the QB
Even if you re-signed Winston, I’m not sure he beats Taysom out again.
He will be out the entire offseason. I know he’s been throwing, but team doctors aren’t going to allow him to throw in the facility to teammates.
He’s going to miss OTAs, mini camps, and quite honestly probably the first half of training camp.
Meanwhile Taysum is going to be working out like he’s Rocky in the training montage from Rocky IV, leading the first team all offseason, building a rapport with Thomas and the receivers and startling camp as the guy.
He’s the guy. With the improvement he’s shown in only 9 starts he deserves that chance.
You can bring in a Fitzpatrick or another journeyman on the cheap if it doesn’t work out, but, Taysoms your guy this season.
If he continues to progress as a passer at the same trajectory that he has In just 9 starts, you have a major weapon at QB for very little money.
# 4 You need 2 WR and a TE
They don’t have to be big names or draft picks, just a solid # 2 WR and another site set of hands, and another sure handed TE to pair with Trautman.
# 5 You re-sign Ingram to a 1 year deal, but, you also bring in a younger guy in the same mold. Again, doesn’t have to be a big name. Just a change of pace guy ego can move the pile.
# 6 You use your first round pick on someone to replace Armstead.
That’s it. It’s not hard. It’s not crazy. That’s how you get back to being a 12-13 win Super Bowl contender without gambling away yhd future and still navigating salary cap hell.
You run a 3 headed monster running game, with Kamara, Ingram and Hill, behind what if healthy should be a Top 10 O line. You let Taysom take his deep shots selectively, while feeding Thomas on the short to intermediate routes the way Brees did, you let Lutz, Gillikan,and Harris dominate on special teams, and you let Allens Top 10 defense dominate dominate opposing teams.
It may not be flashy, but if your holding up a trophy, do you care?