Tag: Gayle Benson

Pro Football Talk reports potential Sean Payton-Tom Brady teamup is NFL’s ‘worst-kept secret’

Pro Football Talk reports that a potential Sean Payton-Tom Brady teamup with the Saints is the NFL’s ‘worst-kept secret’ ahead of a wild 2023 coaching carousel:

Yeah, sure, okay. We’re weeks away from the start of the 2023 NFL coaching carousel, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported Tuesday that the “worst-kept secret” around the league is rumors of a potential teamup between Sean Payton and Tom Brady — with the New Orleans Saints.

This comes on the heels of news from Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan that the Saints don’t plan to move on from head coach Dennis Allen in 2023, having liked the grit and fight and determination his squad showed in holding off a couple of other teams that won’t end the year with a winning record. So how do these two different reports square together?

Let’s tackle the Brady-Payton nugget first. Those two have wanted to work together for a long time. Rumors linked Brady to Payton and the Saints a few years back before Drew Brees’ final season, when Brees considered retirement, only for No. 9 to squash that speculation by returning for one last playoff run. And the Miami Dolphins came under fire recently for tampering in hopes of getting Brady and Payton together, which progressed so far it got their owner suspended and cost them hefty sanctions from the league office.

It’s not hard to see why they’d like to team up. Payton is one of the most successful coaches around not named Bill Belichick. Brady has seen him extend the career of an aging Hall of Fame quarterback before. It certainly helps that they’re both represented by sports agent Don Yee. Brady will be a free agent in 2023 and can sign wherever he pleases, if he wants to continue playing after turning 45. Jameis Winston is the only Saints quarterback under contract next year, but it sure feels like his days in New Orleans are numbered.

So let’s shift gears and look at it from the Saints’ perspective. If they’ve already chosen to retain Allen for 2023, why would they shift course and welcome Payton back with open arms? Probably because their commitment to Allen has a caveat: he’s their guy unless Payton comes back. Payton was the organization for more than a decade. He called the shots, he made personnel decisions, and he dictated team-building strategy. He’s led them to their most successful era in franchise history. Mickey Loomis and Gayle Benson have gotten a taste of life without him at the helm. It isn’t very appealing, and they aren’t eager to try and replace him again if it can be avoided. It’s tough to see Allen returning with a demotion as defensive coordinator, which would kill his credibility in the building, so that helps explain some of Payton’s interest in an experienced hand like Vic Fangio for that role.

This is just my take, but I wouldn’t rule out a Payton-and-Brady union in New Orleans next year at all. I don’t think it’s very likely, because Payton very likely wants a fresh start and to prove he can win a Super Bowl elsewhere, but the Saints should have some appeal to him. He’s won there before, he knows everyone he’d be working with (and answering to), and at the end of the day there’s something to be said for a strong sense of comfort. It’s possible, but anything is possible. It’s possible that I could win the Powerball lottery and you’d never hear from me again. We’ll just have to wait and see how this shakes out.

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Report: Saints won’t dismiss Dennis Allen after the 2022 season

Report: Saints won’t fire Dennis Allen despite disappointing 2022 results, citing recent wins over teams that were immediately eliminated from playoff contention

That’s not entirely surprising, but it’s still hard to believe. Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported for FOX 8 WVUE that the New Orleans Saints are doubling down on head coach Dennis Allen, with support from both management and ownership insuring that Allen will return in this capacity after the 2022 season. Allen’s team has underachieved in every phase, but general manager Mickey Loomis and team owner Gayle Benson appear to be giving him a mulligan.

It’s hard to view this decision as anything but a mistake. The Saints have lurched to a 6-9 record under Allen, failing to win back-to-back games until Weeks 15 and 16. Assuming Allen finishes out the year as planned, he’ll have coached four seasons in the NFL without ever achieving a winning record (granted, he was shown the door after an 0-4 start back in 2014). Right now he’s 14-37 as a pro head coach. The Saints are lucky to have won as many games this season as they have while going 5-3 in one-score games; those are coin-flip scenarios that could easily go the other way. Lucky teams win more one-score games than they lose. Good teams avoid them in the first place.

The Saints empowered Allen as head coach expecting him to lead them to the playoffs. Instead they’ve been one of the NFL’s most penalty- and turnover-ridden teams. Duncan’s report cites recent wins over the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons as reasons for optimism, but come one: it’s the Browns and Falcons we’re talking about. Both teams were eliminated from the playoffs this weekend.

From the Saints’ perspective, they can choose to write this year off to injuries. They put a lot of pressure on Jameis Winston’s shoulders as their next franchise quarterback but his body hasn’t been able to hold up. They’ve been without star talents like Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore for most of the season. They’ll probably try to spin this as poor luck with injuries and give Allen another year to show he can meet expectations with a healthier roster.

But something odd about Duncan’s report is his note that firing Allen “at this point would be cost-prohibitive” given he’s in the first year of his four-year contract as head coach. While Allen’s specific salary is not public knowledge, most NFL head coaches earn $5 to $6 million per year, with the best of the bunch bringing in double-digit salaries. It’s a really hard sell to believe Allen’s buyout matches the $42 million the Saints are paying in dead money for players not on their roster right now, per Over The Cap. Firing Allen and hiring his replacement wouldn’t be cheap, but Benson’s net worth is estimated at $3.8 billion, per Forbes. She can afford it.

If there is an argument in Allen’s favor, it’s that he has won more games this year than many coaches who were dismissed after their first year on the job. In some cases he’s doubled or tripled their winning percentage just by winning six games. Here’s the list of head coaches who were fired after one season, dating back to 2011:

  • Hue Jackson, 2011 Raiders (8-8)
  • Mike Mularkey, 2012 Jaguars (2-14)
  • Rob Chudzinski, 2013 Browns (4-12)
  • Jim Tomsula, 2015 49ers (5-11)
  • Chip Kelly, 2016 49ers (2-14)
  • Steve Wilks, 2018 Cardinals (3-13)
  • Urban Meyer, 2021 Jaguars (2-11)
  • David Culley, 2021 Texans (4-13)
  • Nathaniel Hackett, 2022 Broncos (4-11)

So Allen has already won more games than everyone on this list but his predecessor with the Raiders way back when. There’s little reason to believe he’ll figure things out and find his first winning season in his fifth year as an NFL head coach, but if the Saints are as committed to riding this out as they’re reported to be, there’s nothing fans at home can do about it. We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.

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Opinion: Saints shouldn’t delay inevitable severance with Dennis Allen

We’ve seen enough. The Saints shouldn’t delay an inevitable severance with Dennis Allen. They have the means and enough reason to move on right now:

I’ve seen enough: it’s time for the New Orleans Saints to move on from Dennis Allen. His team hasn’t improved over 10 games to start their season — if anything, they’re losing each week in the exact same manner they started what’s looking like a doomed campaign. When he was coaching the Raiders, Allen went 4-12 twice, then lost his first four games before being fired. He’s on the same path this year with a team largely agreed to be more talented than those he once inherited.

Allen is returning the same results now that he did a decade ago with the Raiders with a penalty-rife team that can’t consistently play well on offense, defense, or special teams. This team was built on the strength of Allen’s defense, which has collapsed without him being able to fine-tune it after his promotion to head coach. The offense has disappointed, and a typically-stout special teams unit has been one of the NFL’s worst despite little change over previous years.

If they couldn’t take care of business against a two-win Pittsburgh Steelers squad starting a rookie quarterback with a bum ankle, which teams can they defeat?

There’s no use waiting around to find out. They aren’t mathematically eliminated from playoff contention yet, and that’s not going to happen for a while considering how bad the other NFC South teams are, but the Saints would be 0-3 against those same teams if not for a last-second blocked field goal in Week 1. Allen isn’t going to be the Saints head coach for 15 years like Sean Payton was. Whether he’s dismissed this week, in a few months, or in a year or two, this story ends with the Saints showing him the door. He hasn’t earned any benefit of the doubt in these results, or faith that we’ll see a major turnaround.

And if they’re smart, the Saints won’t delay the inevitable. Here’s how it could happen:

Why did the Saints make Dennis Allen their head coach again?

The Saints are too bad in too many different ways to harbor any more faith in Dennis Allen. Any continuity they hoped to maintain has been overwhelmed by hard-to-watch, mistake-prone football:

This is hard to watch, and it isn’t getting easier. It feels like the New Orleans Saints are discovering new and innovative ways to lose each week the Dennis Allen era stretches out further. They fell 42-34 to the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night, plummeting to a 2-5 start to the season. Allen hasn’t risen to the occasion. Why is he here again?

Any continuity Allen was hired to maintain from the Sean Payton era was eroded over the summer. And the warning signs were there. Team leaders like Terron Armstead and Malcolm Jenkins left the team and were not replaced. There isn’t any sense of accountability — Allen watched Andy Dalton throw three interceptions and then encouraged him to “Keep doing what you’re doing,” coming out of halftime.

The Saints are sloppy. They’re prone to mistakes and missed tackles and turnovers. They’ve got no viable quarterback, no first round pick to look forward to, and they’re over even the most optimistic 2023 salary cap estimates by more than $50 million. Allen took the wheel and immediately steered their ship into the rocks.

Pete Carmichael Jr. asked for a lesser role, but Allen talked him into hanging around as offensive coordinator and gave him play-calling responsibilities. Carmichael’s responded by broadcasting tendencies for all to see and taking his best players off the field. Alvin Kamara hasn’t scored a single touchdown this season after working as a prime red zone threat for years. Allen should be able to hang his hat on the defense he built, but instead he alienated fan-favorite defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson and jettisoned him at a loss of value. Allen’s defense has been a tremendous disappointment. It feels like we haven’t seen Tyrann Mathieu make a tackle in the open field all season.

So why is he here? If Allen is failing to make executive decisions and his specific unit (which he handcrafted over the years, having started out as the defensive backs coach before climbing the ladder) is letting the team down, why is he here? What does he do here?

It’s a question the Saints may struggle to answer. But there’s a resolution. They can look across the street and see what must be done. The New Orleans Pelicans hired the wrong coach, too, bringing in Stan Van Gundy — and when that partnership collapsed in on itself, they pulled the plug. That’s where things are headed for the Saints. They can delay the inevitable, but it’s clear and obvious to anyone watching that, unfortunately, Allen is the same coach now that he was a decade ago, overwhelmed and in charge of the Raiders.

Injuries have been a problem, sure, but so much of his defense is still intact. Cameron Jordan, David Onyemata, Marcus Davenport, Demario Davis, and Pete Werner are all playing the same roles that they filled a year ago (and in many cases for several years). And they’re falling to pieces against opponents they should be manhandling. Maybe Allen is stretched too thin as a head coach and can’t work as hands-on as he’d like with his unit. Maybe it was all a mirage. Either way, there’s no answers the way things stand now, and no sense in continuing them.

Firing Allen eight weeks into the season would be rash. It would be unprecedented. But look at what the expectations were going into the season. The Saints told anyone who would listen that they had Super Bowl aspirations this year. They sold out and made moves to pursue that goal. And they’ve fallen flat on their faces. And as head coach, Allen is chiefly responsible for it. That’s how it works in a leadership position.

They’ll probably wait it out. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis will want to let Allen have a full year, maybe two, so he can say Allen had a fair shake. So long as games are being sold out and the city is obsessively tuning in for games, he won’t feel any pressure from ownership to make major changes. Welcome to NFL Purgatory.

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Pelicans currently not willing to offer Zion Williamson a fully guaranteed five-year deal

Zion Williamson said he’d sign a contract extension if the Pelicans offer this offseason: “Of course, I couldn’t sign it fast enough.” Pelicans lead executive David Griffin said not so fast. Brian Windhorst of ESPN: From what I have been told, the …

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Report: Pelicans to offer Zion Williamson large – but not fully guaranteed – contract extension nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/28/rep… – 1:01 PM
Jon Chepkevich @JonChep
Popped by to watch Lucas
Williamson get shots up ahead of a slew of NBA workouts next week.
Tough, savvy defensive ace (Lefty Driesell DPOY finalist) who has made great playmaking strides.
Impressed w/ his maturity, approach, and mindset.
Draft sleeper + two-way candidate. pic.twitter.com/iit1V41VYa – 11:09 AM

CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Zion Williamson injury update: Pelicans star cleared for full basketball activities after missing season
cbssports.com/nba/news/zion-… – 5:47 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Zion Williamson cleared to return to play “without restrictions” nba.nbcsports.com/2022/05/26/zio… – 5:27 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
The Pelicans and Zion can agree on a contract extension starting July 1. Went long on that earlier this month. nola.com/sports/pelican… – 4:53 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
Encouraging Zion update from the Pelicans today: The 21-year-old star has been cleared to play without any restrictions. No more guardrails. nola.com/sports/pelican… – 4:13 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
New Orleans Pelicans announced that Zion Williamson has been cleared for work without any restrictions. Pelicans added that recent imaging showed “continued improvement”in his right fifth metatarsal. – 4:10 PM
David Aldridge @davidaldridgedc
The Pelicans announce that Zion Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions after imaging of his right fifth metatarsal showed continued improvement. – 4:06 PM
Scott Kushner @ScottDKushner
No health restrictions on Zion is a the best development the Pelicans could have received this offseason.
Bigger than any draft pick or free agent pick up. – 4:02 PM
Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
New Orleans Pelicans say Zion Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions. – 4:01 PM
Christian Clark @cclark_13
Update from the Pelicans: After another round of medical imaging on his right foot, Zion Williamson has been cleared to play without any restrictions. – 4:01 PM
Andrew Lopez @_Andrew_Lopez
Pelicans say Zion Williamson has been cleared in his return to play progression without any restrictions.
Recent imaging showed continued improvement of the bone healing in his right fifth metatarsal. – 4:01 PM

More on this storyline

Pelicans currently not willing to offer Zion Williamson a fully guaranteed five-year deal

Pelicans discussions about new long-term home still in early stages

The New Orleans Pelicans’ lease at Smoothie King Center expires in a little more than two years. On Tuesday, owner Gayle Benson said any discussions about a potential new long-term home for the Pelicans are still in the early stages. “You know, that’s in the future, and we’re trying to look for now,” Benson said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. “We’re talking about it, but we’ve been talking about it. Hopefully, at the right time we’ll make that decision. But for now, we’re just focusing on renovating what we have. We’re still renovating the Superdome and doing upgrades at the arena.”

She was complimentary of first-year …

She was complimentary of first-year coach Willie Green, who has the Pelicans in position to earn a play-in tournament spot despite star forward Zion Williamson not suiting up in a game this season. “You know, I’m so happy for Willie Green,” Benson said. “He’s such a great guy. He’s just very patient and kind. In the locker room, he’s so patient with the guys. I’m always in the locker room, and every time after the game, win or lose, he talks to them and explains to them why we didn’t win this time. It’s really a lot of fun to see him manage those players, or train them in how to be the best they can be.”

Deshaun Watson had second meeting with Saints, met owner Gayle Benson

Deshaun Watson had second meeting with Saints, this time including team owner Gayle Benson:

The New Orleans Saints are pulling out all the stops to try and recruit Deshaun Watson. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill reports that the team met with the Houston Texans quarterback a second time on Wednesday night, following his flight for an interview with his hometown (and New Orleans’ rival) Atlanta Falcons. Underhill adds that Saints owner Gayle Benson was part of the follow-up meeting with Watson.

Additionally, Pro Football Network’s Aaron Wilson reports that Watson’s decision is expected to fall between the Saints and the Falcons, likely ruling out other interested trade partners like the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns. The Saints cleared almost enough salary cap space to absorb Watson’s contract early Thursday morning. From the sounds of it, Watson is going to the NFC South one way or another.

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Saints owner Gayle Benson to be featured on NFL Network

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson to be featured on NFL Network, via @MaddyHudak_94:

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson is set to be featured on NFL Network’s upcoming episode of NFL 360: Women in Sports. Reporter Jane Slater will join Melissa Stark, host of NFL 360, in interviewing Mrs. Benson set to air on Tuesday, March 8th at 8:00 p.m. CT on NFL Network.

The Emmy Award-winning show utilizes in-depth documentary-style storytelling to highlight important people, places, and moments in the NFL each month. In the midst of Women’s History Month, there’s no better time to highlight the first woman to be the majority shareholder in both an NBA and NFL franchise; an exclusive club in either sport alone.

Benson became the owner of the two teams in 2018 following the passing of her husband, Tom Benson. In her first three seasons assuming ownership, it was clear the Saints were in good hands. Posting three consecutive NFC South division titles and an NFC Championship Game appearance in her first season in 2018, New Orleans has seen a seamless transition and immediate success under a rare female owner. They also had a lot of grit in those three years – no NFL team has matched the team’s 20 road victories since 2018.

Say what you will about the ability to co-manage two sports teams, but if you haven’t been paying attention to the New Orleans Pelicans, now would be the opportune time. Despite falling 138-130 in an overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets Sunday night, the Pelicans’ four-game winning streak that beat teams by 30-point margins all ties back to a crucial hire: coach Willie Green. The culture of the Pelicans finally matches that of the Saints – it was clear back in July. I had the opportunity to co-host an exclusive interview with Green following his introductory press conference on ESPN 100.3 FM and was sold immediately. In attendance was also Mrs. Benson, who makes it a point to attend most if not all Saints training camp practices with fans to do a lap on the field and greet both fans in the stands and us sweaty reporters.

This feature feels like it’s long overdue, and with the Saints at a critical point in the juncture of a new coaching era, and the Pelicans fighting for a play-in spot in the NBA Pelicans, it’s the perfect time to spotlight an incredibly accomplished women in the sports industry.

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