Opinion: Saints should follow Falcons’ example and cut ties with Derek Carr

The Atlanta Falcons are expected to move on from Kirk Cousins, and the New Orleans Saints should consider following suit with Derek Carr:

The Atlanta Falcons are expected to release quarterback Kirk Cousins sometime between now and March after less than one full season starting on the team. This is because of a string of poor starts for the veteran quarterback, and ultimately a lack of true upside, which could hinder the team long-term if they were to retain his contract.

Many of the reasons the Falcons are moving on from Cousins sound like the same issues the New Orleans Saints are facing with Derek Carr. Large contracts with multiple years remaining that could hinder further team development, both have a .500 winning percentage this season when under center, both have a low upside compared to other options on the team, and both have been barely skating by in performances this season.

While the Saints do not have a first-round pick quarterback from the most recent draft class to turn to, they do have a high upside option in Spencer Rattler, as well as what could end up being a top ten draft pick in the 2025 NFL draft. To be clear, I am not a huge proponent of this quarterback draft class, but there are a few strong options that could develop into above average starters. The Saints have been stuck in their ways of trying to compete with an older roster for awhile now, and extending their veteran talents on enormous contracts. Now, most of those contracts look poor in hindsight outside Alvin Kamara and Demario Davis, and the Saints are still well below .500 on the season.

My belief is the Saints need to use their 2025 offseason to get Derek Carr off the roster, considering there is a potential out in his contract where the Saints would only be dealing with the one season of dead cap hit worth approximately $50 million, and build for the future instead. However, there is the option of making Derek Carr one of their June 1st designations where they would only go $10 million into the red instead of $50 million, which would be a significantly preferrable option. Odds are you are going to be dealing with a dead cap hit from other players anyways, including Ryan Ramczyk who is likely to retire at the current juncture.

Drafting a quarterback in 2025 and having them compete for the starting role with Spencer Rattler would likely be a good way to see what you have, and then build around one or the other for the future as the cap hits of the veterans clear up over time. This isn’t even a matter of “kicking the can down the road” anymore, it’s about finding financial flexibility to add youth to your roster and start finding ways to phase out some of the veterans who may want to leave or retire in the coming two to three seasons. Who knows what road the Saints will actually take, but if they are looking for a new head coach in 2025, giving them the chance to build from nearly scratch seems like a better offer than the current roster provides.

Saints vs. Commanders is a double revenge game

Saints vs. Commanders is a double revenge game for Marshon Lattimore and Chase Young. Either player can get a win against the team that drafted him:

All eyes are on Marshon Lattimore ahead of the New Orleans Saints versus Washington Commanders showdown. The game has been unofficially dubbed the “Marshon Lattimore Revenge Game.” Lattimore isn’t the only player in this game facing his former team. Chase Young gets a crack at his first team as well.

Lattimore understandably gets the majority of the attention. The cornerback was traded this year, is making his Commanders debut, and didn’t make a pitstop elsewhere. None these factors apply to Young

Let’s not forget the tension that seemed to stand between Lattimore and the team. Was that all Dennis Allen? We’ll never know, but Lattimore likely doesn’t need extra motivation.

Young will be facing the Commanders for a second time, likely another reason the story is less prevalent. Young is, however, looking for his first sack against Washington.

As a member of the 49ers, Young recorded only one tackle. He’ll be looking to improve on that performance this attempt.

When the Saints and Commanders last faced off, Young and Lattimore still had their original jerseys on. Young had possibly the best game of his season before suffering a season-ending injury later that year. Lattimore had six pass deflections, that is still his career high.

Both men are looking for a repeat performance with different jerseys.

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Opinion: Mickey Loomis shouldn’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach

Mickey Loomis got lucky back in 2006, and he’s ridden that win for too long. He can’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach after Dennis Allen went bust:

Mickey Loomis got lucky back in 2006 when the Green Bay Packers didn’t hire Sean Payton as their head coach, and he’s ridden that win for too long.  Really, he got lucky twice — that same offseason the Miami Dolphins failed a physical for Drew Brees, who signed with the New Orleans Saints instead. That combination established the greatest era in franchise history, winning a Super Bowl together and changing the perception of pro football in New Orleans for a generation.

And Loomis has gotten too much credit for it. When Payton agreed to take the job as his second choice, Loomis was coming off a terrible decision to trade up for Johnathan Sullivan in the 2003 NFL draft, a historic bust at defensive tackle who was off the team and then out of the league in just three years. It’s a mistake he didn’t learn from and repeated with later draft-day gambles on Sedrick Ellis (2008) and Marcus Davenport (2018), among others. It isn’t exaggeration to say Payton and Brees saved his job.

Just look at his record. The Saints have gone 48-61 during his tenure as general manager when Payton wasn’t coaching them (not counting the 2012 season when Loomis and Payton were both suspended). Now look at his peers. The next three longest-tenured GM’s have all seen their teams advance to multiple Super Bowls — Les Snead (107-99-1), Howie Roseman (135-103-1), and John Schneider (144-94-1). Just because Loomis has held his post a long time doesn’t mean he’s the best at his job. His official record is 207-160, including the 2012 season, but as we said many of those wins can be attributed to Payton.

And Payton was one of two head coaches Loomis has hired. The other was Dennis Allen, who failed to sustain the success Payton found and turned into a dead end. That decision wasted everyone’s time during the 2022, 2023, and very likely 2024 seasons, too. Despite his protests that injuries were to blame, team owner Gayle Benson overruled Loomis and finally fired Allen after his 24-46 career record fell to 26-53 this year.

All of this was said to say that Loomis shouldn’t be trusted to hire the Saints’ next head coach after this season. If Darren Rizzi earns the job by winning out and getting to the playoffs, awesome — that would be remarkable. If a candidate familiar with the organization like Aaron Glenn or Joe Brady ends up being the best fit, great. But that shouldn’t be a call Loomis should make. He’s shown before that he’ll take the easy way out and hire someone he knows, like Allen, rather than seriously consider an outside candidate.

Loomis got lucky once and it bought him a lifetime of job security. The last time he was given free reign to hire a coach he set the franchise back for years. Now, with the hope of a clean salary cap ledger on the horizon and the possibility of a reset coming with it, the Saints can’t trust that Loomis will learn from his mistakes and make the right decision. If firing him isn’t an option, and there’s nothing to suggest it is, promote him to a hands-off role in senior leadership and let someone with a fresh perspective (like assistant general manager Khai Harley) take the reins. We’ll just have to wait and see if Gayle Benson agrees.

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Saints coach search: Do they meet Ben Johnson’s requirements?

It’s been reported that Lions OC Ben Johnson has two requirements for any head coaching vacancy he’ll consider. Do the Saints qualify?

Ben Johnson is projected to be the leading candidate in the head coaching cycle this year. He’s been a name thrown around for a couple of years, and Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has reported Johnson’s approach to head coaching vacancies this year.

If Johnson is interviewing, he fully plans on taking the job. This means any team sits down with Johnson has a good chance to land him. In the past, coaches have interviewed just to gather information on the job.

Johnson also a pair of criteria for any vacancy. Do the New Orleans Saints meet those requirements?

Breer reports Johnson is looking for “Organizational alignment — in particular between the GM and the head coach. And then he’ll be looking for recognition from the organization of the things that have gone wrong, and a willingness to fix them.”

Organizational alignment won’t be determined until he gets in the room, and it’s difficult from the outside looking in. As for the second criteria, will New Orleans recognize what went wrong.

There are a couple of ways to look at this. Mickey Loomis has made comments to make you wonder if he actually sees the downfall of the Dennis Allen era or if firing Allen was just something that had to happen.

On the other hand, the Saints fired their head coach in the middle of the year and let go of Pete Carmichael. The last year has been filled with making the necessary moves. This could be a sign to Johnson of the Saints’ ability to recognize and course correct.

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Saints linebacker’s role changed significantly after coaching change

Willie Gay saw zero snaps on Sunday despite the Saints’ struggles stopping the Rams’ rushing attack. His role has clearly changed since Dennis Allen was fired:

Willie Gay didn’t see a single defensive snap against the Los Angeles Rams. The first explanation you’d think of is the New Orleans Saints played more defensive backs to stop Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. It sounds good until you look at how Week 13 actually transpired.

The truth is the Saints couldn’t stop running backs Kyren Williams and Blake Corum on the ground. The Saints’ poor run defense was their biggest struggle on Sunday, and Willie Gay still didn’t see the field. You’d think he’d join Demario Davis and Pete Werner at some point.

Joe Woods replacing Dennis Allen as the defensive play caller directly coincides with a drop in Gay’s snaps. In the past three games, Gay’s snaps have went from 13 to 6 to 0. That consistent fall suggests Woods doesn’t see Gay as valuable an asset as Allen did. At the same time, we aren’t seeing other linebackers get those snaps. Davis and Werner were the only Saints linebackers to get on the field against the Rams.

Sunday’s game was the most glaring example of Gay’s absence. It’s hard to point at this being an aberration or the product of game planning when the snaps have dropped consistently. At this point it appears Gay is being phased out of the defense.

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Kendre Miller to be ‘all gas, no brakes’ after return from injury

The move from Dennis Allen to Darren Rizzi took Kendre Miller out of the doghouse. It should lead to greater usage when he returns from injured reserve:

Kendre Miller’s New Orleans Saints career hasn’t really been able to get off the ground due to injuries. Injuries have limited the former third-round draft pick to just 10 games in two seasons.

The frustrating part about Miller is you see why the Saints selected him when he plays. He only played in two games and carried the ball nine times this year, but he looked like a great complement to Alvin Kamara.

And Miller may have the chance to truly showcase this upon his return now that Darren Rizzi is the coach. Dennis Allen was publicly critical enough to assume he and Miller had a bad relationship in private.

It was reported Miller didn’t need to be put on injured reserve, and that was a Dennis Allen decision. The change at head coach takes the running back out of the doghouse.

Per LouisianaSportsDotNet’s Ross Jackson, the plan is for Miller to be “all gas, no brakes” when he comes back from a hamstring injury. That could be as early as this week against the New York Giants.

Miller should see plenty of carries per game if this is the approach. The Saints will be without Taysom Hill for the rest of the season, and Miller should be the secondary rushing option over Jamaal Williams.

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Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends

Darren Rizzi has a big opportunity to buck one of Dennis Allen’s worst trends. His predecessor lost four times after shutting out an opponent in the first half:

New Orleans Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi has a chance to buck an alarming trend that started under Dennis Allen, after holding the Los Angeles Rams scoreless in the first half.

Saints fan and professional statistician Jeff Asher shared an interesting stat; Allen-led New Orleans teams had lost four games after not allowing the opponents to score in the first half. Sean Payton never once lost one of those games.

And the only other time the Rams had been shut out under Sean McVay was the infamous Super Bowl LIII against the New England Patriots. Los Angeles will be entering unknown territory here.

The Saints were only able to muster six points themselves, so the game could still go either way. It’s another important test for Rizzi, and a big opportunity for him to buck one of the most troubling trends of his predecessor’s tenure.

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Saints ranked as one of the least-attractive head coach openings

Bleacher Report argues the New Orleans Saints have one of the least-attractive head coach openings after firing Dennis Allen:

The Chicago Bears fired Matt Eberflus after one of the most disappointing end of game sequences you’ll ever see. He may have been on the way out regardless, but it may have expedited the process.

This makes Chicago the third vacancy created this season. The New York Jets and New Orleans Saints moved on from Robert Saleh and Dennis Allen earlier this year.

Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox took those three teams and added the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants.

From there, Knox ranked those teams based on attractiveness. The only team less attractive than the Saints was the Jets. What separated the Big Easy from the Big Apple? The Jets have been a revolving door at head coach. Meanwhile, Sean Payton was a long-term coach in New Orleans.

Granted, that’s what happens when you hire a good coach, but we’ll take anything that keeps the Saints out of last.

What keeps them from being higher? They don’t have a quarterback to carry them into the future. The roster as a whole is viewed as average beyond a few foundational pieces. There’s enough to build around here, but maybe not enough resources to build with, and the Saints may struggle to attract the top candidates on the market come hiring season.

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Week 13 is Alontae Taylor’s chance to make up for last year’s lowlight

Alontae Taylor was benched against the Rams last year. This is the Saints’ cornerback opportunity to replace that with a new memory:

When the New Orleans Saints go against the Los Angeles Rams, Alontae Taylor could look at this game as an opportunity for redemption.

The Saints took on the Rams last year, and it wasn’t a good game for Taylor. Dennis Allen benched Taylor in the “Thursday Night Football” contest after he was at fault on too many big gains.

That game may have taken place last season, but those types of moments don’t just fade from memory. We also know it’s a moment that Taylor carried with him into this season. It was last year’s contest against the Rams the cornerback referenced when speaking on the desire to show the prime time lights aren’t too bright.

If Taylor wanted redemption on primetime games in general, it wouldn’t be far fetched to assume he may also be looking for redemption against the Rams specifically.

Taylor will be aligned at outside cornerback opposed to in the slot. While his alignment has changed, that’s no reason for the motivation to subside.

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Cameron Jordan has been waiting on these opportunities all year

Cameron Jordan has been a bit more productive in the last two weeks and he’s been ‘asking for opportunities all season’

In the latter years of his career, Cameron Jordan versus the cliff has been a frequent conversation. There’s been seasons where he starts slow but somehow bounces back to finish with seven or more sacks.

There wasn’t a bounce back last year, and this year he’s felt like a non-factor until the last two weeks. The move from Dennis Allen to Darren Rizzi has reinvigorated the New Orleans Saints, but it’s less about reinvigoration and more about getting chances.

“I’ve been asking for opportunities all season. Given opportunities there’s going to be certain advantages. You’re able to display talents you’ve displayed every year of your career as well as help the team get a win,” Jordan said.

Jordan only played 10 snaps in Allen’s last game. His snaps have balanced out to where they were earlier in the season. And in the last two games, Jordan recorded his first sack of the season and followed it up with his first game with multiple pressures this year.

This may be his final stint, but Jordan is looking to show he is more than he showed at the start of the season.

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