Is Mickey Loomis proud of the turnaround the New Orleans Saints achieved back in 2006? Everything the longtime general manager has said in recent weeks would suggest he isn’t. First, Loomis compared Derek Carr’s ugly first season with the Saints to a fictitious retelling of Drew Brees’ debut way back when.
Then, on Wednesday when speaking to local media, Loomis tried to get clever and compare head coach Dennis Allen’s lack of success to similar rough starts for a couple of Hall of Fame coaches like Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, and Bill Belichick — and Sean Payton, who Loomis recalled facing public outcry after underwhelming performances in 2007 and 2008.
“I think sometimes the easy thing to do, the lazy thing to do is look at the results of the season and say ‘ah it’s the coach’s fault, it’s the quarterback’s fault.’ I think sometimes you have to look beyond that,” Loomis said, pointing to the records each of those coaches achieved in their first two years on the job. Walsh went 8-24 in his first two years with the San Francisco 49ers. Noll was 6-22 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Belichick had a 13-19 showing after his first two years with the Cleveland Browns. Payton went 7-9 and 8-8 in his second and third years on the job.
But it’s a bogus comparison. Allen may be 16-18 after two seasons with the Saints, but you can’t compare these situations the way Loomis is trying to. It isn’t like Allen is new to the responsibilities of being a head coach. He had three years to figure these things out a decade ago with the Raiders. Walsh, Noll, Belichick, and Payton were all first-timers. Allen has been here before but he doesn’t have the results to show for it.
To be clear, Loomis should believe in Allen seeing that he brought the coach back for a third year at the helm. Loomis, however, doesn’t need to make ridiculous comparisons to attempt to defend his guy. The comparisons are meant to express things haven’t gone well but can get better, and Dennis Allen’s record isn’t a full reflection of his ability Comparing Allen to Payton and Belichick, and multiple Hall of Famers, dilutes the point.
And Payton, specifically, accomplished much more than Allen had to this point in his career. Has Loomis forgotten that he led the Saints to the NFC championship game in his first season with New Orleans? That he won more games in his first year as a head coach than Allen has ever managed in five? Allen can’t even win the weakest division in pro football two years running.
But Loomis hired Allen, and he’s going to keep making excuses for Allen’s shortcomings until things change. And hopefully they will. There’s enough talent on this roster to get into the playoffs. Maybe the Saints can make enough changes to the coaching staff this offseason to get over that hump. But they can do that without having their general manager embarrass himself whenever he gets in front of a microphone.
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