Big changes are needed for the New Orleans Saints, but they appear to be willing to wait until 2025 when it’s easier to get out of Derek Carr’s contract and move on from him and head coach Dennis Allen as a package deal — obviously hoping both of them figure things out and finally achieve a winning season instead.
So the most realistic big change fans could expect for 2024 would be a new offensive coordinator. Pete Carmichael Jr. hasn’t gotten the job done in either of his two years as the Saints’ play caller. It’s possible that Allen could promote from within (passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ronald Curry is an obvious possibility) but the Saints badly need fresh perspective in the room. They can’t keep trying to run Sean Payton and Drew Brees’ offense without either of them.
The problem is that Allen has tried and failed to replace Carmichael in each of his first two years on the job; up-and-comers like Liam Coen would rather stay in the college ranks than try and advance their career on his staff, while coaching veterans like Jay Gruden, Scottie Montgomery, and Robert Prince are trying their hand elsewhere. If Allen is going to get a new coordinator, it’ll be someone who is either desperate for the opportunity, highly-paid to sweeten the deal, or both.
So who fits that description? Here are five names we’re watching closely.