Settling for Pete Carmichael suggests the Saints want to run a Sean Payton-and-Drew Brees offense without Payton or Brees. How much of that success was on Carmichael?
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We’re on to more of the same from Dennis Allen’s New Orleans Saints regime. The Saints have surveyed the field of candidates, interviewed a few of them, and went with another safe and comfortable choice in retaining Pete Carmichael as offensive coordinator. That lines up with other Sean Payton coaching tree moves like hiring Doug Marrone as offensive line coach and, well, picking Allen himself as head coach. They just haven’t seen a reason to seriously look outside their established circle, much less shake things up by hiring someone new.
So what’s the deal with this Carmichael move? Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported last week that it was Carmichael’s decision to step down to a lesser role, making room for a new offensive coordinator. He also didn’t want to interview for head coach. His first instinct wasn’t to stay on as offensive coordinator. It wasn’t until the Saints interviewed other candidates and circled back to him that he agreed to return as offensive coordinator.
Maybe that was a negotiating ploy to try and get a raise or a contract extension (or both). Maybe he just wanted to feel wanted. But it speaks to the larger narrative of Carmichael’s career — in which he’s rarely interviewed for head coaching gigs, and often taken a backseat to Payton — that he just lacks ambition. There’s a time and place for that attitude. It’s tough to see this current moment in Saints history as a good time to settle. It feels like they’re comfortable only winning 9 or 10 games a year and maybe missing the playoffs. So long as seats are filled in the Superdome and TV ratings are strong, that’s enough for them.
But hey, maybe I’m wrong. The Saints have been wildly successful throughout Carmichael’s tenure, and the 2021 season was very much an aberration. Between injuries and COVID-19 problems and suspensions, it’s easy to write that one off as an anomaly. If the Saints invest in their offense and strengthen the depth chart and get some better luck, they should be on the right track. But that would’ve been the case for anyone they hired.
And maybe Carmichael has a binder full of fresh ideas that Payton didn’t consider. We’ve all been wound so tight over him just running Payton’s plays without any changes and that may not be the case. He could very well install a couple of new packages in minicamps and usher in a bright new era of offense.
I just can’t help but doubt this being the right approach. That system was successful for so long because Sean Payton drew the plays and Drew Brees executed them. Now neither of them are here. The future of their two cornerstone playmakers is also in doubt — how many games could Alvin Kamara be suspended, and when will Michael Thomas be himself again? If the Saints are just looking to run a Payton-and-Brees offense without Payton and Brees, and with uncertainty surrounding their best pass catchers, it’s really hard to feel optimistic about this strategy. We’ll have to wait and see.
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