ESPN ranks Saints as least desirable open job

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Pros: Ownership, division
Cons: Roster, salary cap

The Saints are roughly where the Raiders were in 2011, when they were holding on for dear life with the league's worst cap situation in the hopes of being competitive. That team had an excuse: They were attempting to win another Super Bowl for Al Davis while the legendary owner was still alive, which was made more difficult by some of the key decisions Davis was making, including hiring Hue Jackson to be the new coach.

The Saints don't have that excuse or really any reason to operate the way they have over the past few years now that Drew Brees and Sean Payton have both left town. This season has continued the slide down the drain for New Orleans, which followed the firing of longtime Payton assistant Pete Carmichael during the offseason by dismissing coach Dennis Allen in midyear. Darren Rizzi has gone 3-3 as the interim coach, but this organization desperately needs to accept that the glory days aren't coming back until it gets a fresh start.

It seems as if there are two paths to take, and those paths might require two different kinds of coaches. One would be the path the Saints have taken over the past few years since Brees' retirement in 2021, the idea they can compete for a division title and host a playoff game if things break their way. While acknowledging they have been brutalized by injuries this season, it's more difficult to make that case than ever before. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore is gone, and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk is expected to retire because of a knee injury. Defensive end Cameron Jordan has five sacks over the past two seasons. Safety Tyrann Mathieu has looked a step slower this season. After a hot start to the season, running back Alvin Kamara has averaged 3.9 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns since Week 3. Tight end/offensive playmaker Taysom Hill tore his ACL earlier this month. These guys aren't likely to get better in 2025.

And there isn't as much as the Saints would hope to serve as the core of the next generation. Wideout Chris Olave has dealt with concussions this season. First-round picks Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning are works in progress at tackle as opposed to immediate solutions, with Penning's fifth-year option looming as a difficult call. Kool-Aid McKinstry has taken his lumps as a rookie corner, which isn't concerning, but Alontae Taylor has given up more expected points added (EPA) than any cornerback in the league. Paulson Adebo, another corner, broke his leg in October. The Saints have dropped from seventh in EPA allowed per play a year ago to 20th this season.


The other path would be to accept reality and begin a difficult rebuild. It'll take two years to get the bad contracts off the long-abused Saints' cap sheet, and what happens over that time span won't be pretty. This Mickey Loomis-led front office had an all-timer of a draft in 2017, but the results since then have been mixed. It remains to be seen if ownership lets Loomis and assistant GM Jeff Ireland handle the rebuild when it does come. The Benson family has been willing to pay massive bonuses up front year after year as part of restructures for the Saints to keep their cap afloat and shown plenty of patience as the organization tries to rebuild a post-Brees identity. Unfortunately, it might have been too much patience.

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